October 9, 2025
The Christian Science Monitor recently published an article featuring Sami Karaca, Clinical Assistant Professor, Markets, Public Policy, and Law, examining how the Trump administration is reshaping U.S. economic policy.
Breaking from decades of free-market tradition, the administration has begun taking direct ownership stakes in private companies across key sectors such as lithium mining, rare-earth processing, semiconductors, and steel.
Recent deals include converting a $2.3 billion loan to Lithium Americas into equity and acquiring an $11 billion passive stake in Intel – moves officials say will strengthen domestic supply chains and national security. Supporters describe this approach as “selective state capitalism,” a way to counter China’s dominance in critical industries, while critics warn it risks politicizing markets and putting taxpayers on the hook for potential losses.
As Karaca notes, “If this becomes [a] permanent policy, it will represent the most significant restructuring of American capitalism since the New Deal.”
While the U.S. has previously taken temporary crisis-driven stakes, Trump’s strategy signals a possible long-term shift toward government-backed “national champions,” blurring the line between free enterprise and state ownership.
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