I don’t ever remember anyone alleging the United States used the TAO to steal trade secrets to give to American corporations, nor do I ever recall them hacking other countries to gain advantages in trade negotiations.

If you’d like to paint them as equally entwined, please cite your sources.

It's pretty systemic, not an exception. Just of the top of my head.

"In 1999, Enercon, a German company and leading manufacturer of wind energy equipment, developed a breakthrough generator for wind turbines. After applying for a US patent, it had learned that Kenetech, an American rival, had submitted an almost identical patent application shortly before. By the statement of a former NSA employee, it was later discovered that the NSA had secretly intercepted and monitored Enercon's data communications and conference calls and passed information regarding the new generator to Kenetech. As German intelligence services are forbidden from engaging in industrial or economic espionage, German companies are frequently complaining that this leaves them defenceless against industrial espionage from the United States. According to Wolfgang Hoffmann, a former manager at Bayer, German intelligence services are aware which companies are being targeted by US intelligence agencies, but refuse to inform the companies involved."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON#Examples_of_industrial...