Savannah, Georgia – The former President Donald Trump on Tuesday said about his production agenda and announced incentives to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US, some of which he did as president and with mixed results.
Speaking in Savannah, home to one of the busiest ports in the US, Trump promised, “Georgia and Savannah will be in the middle of the action. We will rebuild our manufacturing, and it will happen quickly and beautifully.”
At economy is one of the top problems for voters nationwide and in the war-torn state of Georgia, and Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have offered some targeted economic proposals. Harris plans to announce more details about his economic plan Wednesday.
Trump said U.S. companies would get expanded research and development tax credits, part of the 2017 tax cuts he passed while he was president.
“You will be able to write off 100% of the cost of heavy machinery and other equipment in the first year and the full cost of new manufacturing investment,” Trump said of the plan.
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This proposal, known as 100% expensing bonus, is implemented as part of the R&D tax credit. This allows businesses to write off 100% of the investment cost of machinery or equipment in the first year, instead of amortizing it over five years.
The former president also said his administration would “take other countries’ jobs” with economic incentives on offer.
“We’re going to take out their factories,” Trump said on Tuesday. “We’re going to bring thousands and thousands of businesses and trillions of dollars in wealth back to the good old USA.”
“Under the plan, American workers will no longer have to worry about losing their jobs to foreign countries,” he said. “However, foreign countries will worry about losing jobs to America.”
Trump said he would put a “100% tariff” on cars coming from Mexico. Several major automakers — including General Motors, Ford, Nissan, Volkswagen and Toyota — have manufacturing facilities in Mexico, and the tariffs are generally unpopular among Republicans. His former advisor Gary Cohn said in “Face the Nation” earlier this month that tariffs are an “important instrument” for the president, can cause inflation.
Some Republicans did not share Trump’s enthusiasm for tariffs, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said Tuesday he was “not a fan of tariffs.”
As president, Trump imposed several tariffs on foreign goods, including solar panels, washing machines, clothing, and steel and aluminum, arguing that they would help preserve US jobs. But many economists say this surge in protectionism has led to retaliation from China, heightened tensions with other major trading partners and increased uncertainty over trade policy, dampening US growth.
This year’s research by some of the world’s top economists evaluates the impact of Trump’s 2018-2019 tariffs and whether they will restore jobs to the US and gain support from voters. It found that the net effect of import tariffs and retaliation in areas affected by the trade war “was at best a wash, and probably somewhat negative.”
The report states that import tariffs “have a negative or insignificant employment effect,” and that retaliatory tariffs “have a consistent and significant negative effect.” However, the trade war succeeded in “reinforcing support” for the GOP, the study said, finding that people living in targeted areas “became less likely to identify as Democrats and more likely to vote for President Trump.”
Trump also mentioned his pitch to lower the corporate tax rate from 21% – which was cemented into law under Trump’s 2017 tax plan – to 15% to incentivize companies to manufacture in the US.
As part of an effort to persuade US companies to bring production back to the country, Trump proposed the creation of a “special zone” on federal land that would be designated for American companies and feature lower taxes and regulations, but he did not provide details on this. plan.
In an olive branch for the Governor of the Republic of Georgia Brian Kemp, whom Trump previously called a “bad guy” and who campaigned against in 2022, Trump praised Kemp as “fantastic” and thanked Kemp “for his great support.” In 2020, Trump became the first Republican to lose Georgia in a presidential race since 1992, and he then called Kemp to request a special session of the Georgia legislature to overturn the election results, which Kemp refused.
But the tension between the two has eased. Before Trump’s last visit to Georgia in early August, he offered to work with Kemp to expand Savannah’s port. Although the port of Savannah is still one of the largest in the country, the city was in decline before being driven by revitalization from the Savannah College of Art and Design and tourism in the late 20th century.
“We’re going to work with your governor, and we’re going to get it done as quickly as possible,” Trump said Tuesday.
Trump also thanked Kemp for his support even as the Georgia governor campaigned in Pennsylvania with Senate candidate Dave McCormick.
This is Trump’s sixth visit to Georgia during the 2024 presidential campaign cycle, one of the most contentious battleground states.
CBS News poll shows the race in Georgia between Trump and Harris is a throw it up.
