Trump Blocks Broadcom’s Bid for Qualcomm<br />Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary, said in a statement<br />that the decision was part of the administration’s “commitment to take all actions necessary to protect the national security of the United States.”<br />He said the order was based “on the facts and national security sensitivities related to this particular transaction only<br />and is not intended to make any other statement about Broadcom or its employees, including its thousands of hard working and highly skilled U. S. employees.”<br />Yet the order will undoubtedly raise questions about the extent to which the Trump administration is willing to intervene in private-sector decisions.<br />In a presidential order, Mr. Trump said there was “credible evidence”<br />that led him to believe that if Singapore-based Broadcom were to acquire control of Qualcomm, which is based in San Diego, it “might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States.”<br />The decision underscored the lengths that the president is willing to go to shelter American companies<br />and ward off foreign investment in the United States.<br />By CECILIA KANGMARCH 12, 2018<br />WASHINGTON — President Trump on Monday blocked Broadcom’s $117 billion bid for the chip maker Qualcomm, citing national security concerns and sending a clear signal<br />that he was willing to take extraordinary measures to punctuate his administration’s increasingly protectionist stance.<br />Mr. Trump has singled out Chinese steel as a key factor in his decision; he has said China<br />has routed steel through other countries and flooded the United States with cheap metal.
