Wisconsin’s Foxconn Blunder Is a Case Study for Biden
Public-private partnerships require steely resolve and a deft touch or else they end up in a Trump-style mess. The president should take note.
Shaking on a bad deal.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
Governor Tony Evers of Wisconsin announced last week that he had successfully renegotiated a controversial contract that his predecessor, Scott Walker, had struck with Foxconn Technology Group, a Taiwanese electronics giant that had promised — but never delivered — tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars to his state.
Walker, a Republican backed by former President Donald Trump, committed $3 billion in state aid four years ago to lure Foxconn to Wisconsin. It was the biggest corporate subsidy package ever awarded to a foreign enterprise, and it immediately raised questions about whether Wisconsin would recoup its investment. Evers, a Democrat, eventually concluded it wouldn’t unless he went back to the drawing board. Foxconn will be eligible for only $80 million in subsidies and only if it meets new investment and hiring goals.