The Wall Street Journal's conservative editorial board skewered President Donald Trump's latest economic maneuver in an editorial published on Monday.
Trump has consistently sought to exert his influence over the U.S. economy during his second term. His latest attempts involve requiring semiconductor companies to pay an export fee to sell their products in China. NVIDIA agreed to pay a 15% fee to sell its chips in China, and Trump posted on Truth Social that his administration is in talks with Intel.
To the Journal's editorial board, the move was "another step toward government control of private business."
"Now we’re seeing the rest of the mosaic, and it’s not pretty," the editorial reads in part.
Trump has largely implemented his economic agenda without the help of a Republican-controlled Congress. For example, he has unilaterally installed new tariffs on a wide swath of American trading partners.
The WSJ editorial board argued that Trump's reliance on unilateral decisions is a symbol of a larger issue his administration creates for the American economy.
"Selling chips in China may be more important to them than defending the legal principle that the government can’t willy-nilly shake down companies," the editorial board argued.
"Step by step, Mr. Trump is expanding the long arm of the state into more of the private economy," the editorial continued. "Will any Republican object? Alas, probably not."