“It replaces the invisible hand with the government hand,” said Mary Lovely, a Syracuse University economist. “You’re replacing the market with government fiat.”
On Friday, citing national security, Trump ordered the Energy Department tocompel power-grid operators to buy from ailing coal and nuclear plants that otherwise would be forced to shut down because of competition from cheaper sources.
The order came one day after the president imposed historic metals tariffs on some of the country’s strongest allies and trading partners. Now the Commerce Department is further picking winners and losers as it weighs thousands of requests from companies for waivers from the import taxes.
On May 23, Nucor — the largest domestic producer — called upon Commerce to reject an exclusion bid by London-based Evraz that would allow it to import steel slab from Russia.
the Energy Department should invoke emergency authority under Cold War legislation — the Defense Production Act of 1950 and the Federal Power Act — to require regional electricity grids to purchase electric power from a list of plants chosen by the department.
Industry experts expect that the Appalachian coal mining firm Murray Energy and the Ohio-based utility FirstEnergy — which first broached the idea of a rescue plan to Perry last year — will be near the top of the list of companies benefiting from Trump’s order.
Murray chief executive Robert Murray and FirstEnergy chief executive Charles E. Jones Sr. have contributed heavily to Trump and GOP political activities.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...944de66d9e7_story.html?utm_term=.bcbe5caa83c2
On Friday, citing national security, Trump ordered the Energy Department tocompel power-grid operators to buy from ailing coal and nuclear plants that otherwise would be forced to shut down because of competition from cheaper sources.
The order came one day after the president imposed historic metals tariffs on some of the country’s strongest allies and trading partners. Now the Commerce Department is further picking winners and losers as it weighs thousands of requests from companies for waivers from the import taxes.
On May 23, Nucor — the largest domestic producer — called upon Commerce to reject an exclusion bid by London-based Evraz that would allow it to import steel slab from Russia.
the Energy Department should invoke emergency authority under Cold War legislation — the Defense Production Act of 1950 and the Federal Power Act — to require regional electricity grids to purchase electric power from a list of plants chosen by the department.
Industry experts expect that the Appalachian coal mining firm Murray Energy and the Ohio-based utility FirstEnergy — which first broached the idea of a rescue plan to Perry last year — will be near the top of the list of companies benefiting from Trump’s order.
Murray chief executive Robert Murray and FirstEnergy chief executive Charles E. Jones Sr. have contributed heavily to Trump and GOP political activities.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...944de66d9e7_story.html?utm_term=.bcbe5caa83c2
