Technology: Keep the Fox From the Coop

Keep the Fox From the Coop

Every year hundreds of foreign firms offer to buy stakes in U.S. companies, and the Government barely notices. But the proposal by Fujitsu, the Japanese conglomerate, to acquire an 80% interest in Fairchild Semiconductor has begun ringing alarm bells in Washington. Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige and Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger have asked the White House to consider blocking the purchase. Since Fairchild supplies computer chips to the U.S. military, the Cabinet officials fear that the deal could threaten national security. Baldrige is also concerned that through Fairchild, Fujitsu would gain a distribution system for its supercomputers, powerful machines that can be...

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