WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump announced on Tuesday his intention to “take” manufacturing jobs from foreign countries, including U.S. allies, if he wins the Nov. 5 election. He plans to achieve this by offering incentives to encourage companies to relocate to the United States.
Trump pledged a “manufacturing renaissance” as a key element of his economic strategy, proposing low taxes and minimal regulation to attract foreign companies.
“We will take other countries’ jobs,” Trump declared during a speech to supporters in Savannah, Georgia, a significant port city and car-manufacturing hub. “We’re going to take their factories.”
The Republican presidential candidate asserted that a vote for him would result in a “mass exodus” of manufacturing from U.S. allies such as South Korea and Germany, in addition to economic rival China.
This was Trump’s second major economic address of the month, as he and Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent, compete to persuade voters in battleground states like Georgia that they can best manage the U.S. economy.
According to opinion polls, the high cost of living and jobs are the primary concerns for Americans.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Tuesday indicated that Harris has narrowed Trump’s lead on economic issues. When asked which candidate had the better approach on “economy, unemployment and jobs,” approximately 43% of voters favored Trump, while 41% supported Harris. Notably, Trump had an 11-point lead over Harris on the economy in late July.
Harris is scheduled to deliver a significant economic speech in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, with some of her proposals also aimed broadly at helping Americans build and maintain wealth, as reported by Reuters.
During his speech, Trump specified that his proposed incentives would apply only to foreign companies that relocate manufacturing to the U.S. and hire American workers.
“I want German car companies to become American car companies. I want them to build their plants here,” Trump stated.
However, he warned that companies not manufacturing goods in the U.S. would face “a very substantial tariff” when exporting their products to the U.S.
On Monday, Trump indicated he would impose a 200% tariff on John Deere’s imports into the U.S. if the agricultural equipment company proceeded with plans to move production to Mexico.
Preserving and creating American manufacturing jobs through extensive tariffs on both allies and adversaries has become a central theme of Trump’s economic stance.
While Trump and his supporters advocate for trade barriers as necessary to protect U.S. industry, many economists argue that his proposals could lead to increased inflation.
Trump also mentioned that he would incentivize U.S.-based manufacturers with tax breaks for research and development costs and the ability to claim expenses for heavy machinery in the first year.
He reiterated his commitment to reducing the corporate tax rate from 21% to 15% for companies manufacturing their products in the U.S.
Additionally, Trump promised to appoint a global manufacturing ambassador to persuade foreign companies to move to the U.S. and to create special low-tax, low-regulation zones on federal lands for American-based manufacturers.
However, details remain unclear on what federal lands would be offered to foreign companies under Trump’s plan or how such an arrangement would function. If the land remains federally owned while foreign companies operate on it, these companies might theoretically be exempt from property tax.
In recent months, Trump has been introducing new economic policies aimed at appealing to working and middle-class voters, including the elimination of federal taxes on tips and overtime.
Many economists caution that such tax eliminations could reduce government revenues and significantly increase the federal deficit.
(This story has been refiled to remove an extra word in paragraph 1)