Economic security

Where is the line between national security and economic prosperity

It’s one thing for the government to tell a U.S. company it can’t sell part of its business because the transaction would undermine national security. It’s another to bar the sale because the deal might hurt other U.S. companies. In the former circumstance, the matter of national security outweighs any commercial gain. In the latter, it boils down to government deciding the matter in favor of one party over the other.

But when the stakes are high, some folks will try to blur the distinction. In 2013, for example, American business interests tried to block Shuanghui’s purchase of pork producer Smithfield Foods on the grounds that it somehow threatened national security.