The P&O sale has been most memorable for its exaggerated price tag. Political hyperbole can now be added to the mix. Although the purchase of the UK group has been approved by its shareholders and by the relevant regulatory authorities, politicians in the US are now worried about handing over some of its ports to an Arab country.

The fuss seems to rest on a partial misunderstanding of the nature of the deal. Dubai’s DP World, the state-owned group buying P&O, will not actually own ports in the US. Instead, it will take over P&O’s concessionary leases to operate facilities at five ports on the East Coast. The ports themselves will continue to belong to the relevant state-owned authorities.