The Trump administration is in talks to take an equity stake in Lithium Americas, which would insert the government into another private enterprise in the latest challenge to American free-market traditions.

The move comes on the heels of Trump announcements establishing government holdings in struggling semiconductor giant Intel and the rare earth company MP Materials. Trump also secured a “golden share” for Washington in United States Steel as a condition of its sale to Japan’s Nippon Steel.

Talks are still ongoing on the Lithium Americas stake, part of a renegotiation of a US Department of Energy loan held by the Canadian mining company and General Motors, said a Trump administration official.

The White House has characterized the stock holding arrangements as a boon for taxpayers th

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