With 40 days to go until the US election, the competition between the two sides is intensifying. Both Republican presidential candidate Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Harris have put forward new policy proposals this week to attract voters.
Trump proposed the “New American Industrialism” in an attempt to put pressure on Harris on economic issues. He suggested using import tariffs and other measures to boost American industry.
During a speech in the crucial swing state of Georgia, Trump presented a series of economic proposals, promising to establish a special envoy to help attract foreign manufacturers to the US and further provide federal land to entice them.
“I want German car companies to become American car companies… I want them to build plants here,” he said.
Currently, German and other foreign car manufacturers have extensive manufacturing operations in the US, with many factories producing more cars for the US and 120 export markets. For example, BMW has an 8 million square foot complex in South Carolina, employing 11,000 workers and manufacturing over 1,500 SUVs per day for the US and export markets. Mercedes and Volkswagen also have large plants here.
Trump also stated that if elected, he would impose a 100% tariff on every car entering the US from Mexico, with the only way to avoid these tariffs being to establish car manufacturing plants in the US.
Currently, due to thin profit margins, many car manufacturers produce smaller, lower-priced cars in Mexico or other countries to help the company make money with lower labor costs.
On the other hand, Harris hopes to increase the corporate tax rate to 28%. When Trump took office in 2017, the rate was 35%, and he later signed a bill to reduce the rate.
“We put America first, and this new American industrialism will create millions and millions of job opportunities,” Trump said.
He also suggested canceling some environmental regulations to promote energy production, saying that the US “has oil, has natural gas. We have everything. The only thing we lack is smart people to lead our country.”
In comparison, Harris has made the abortion issue a major topic for the Democratic Party in this election. To garner more support from female voters, she called for repealing the Senate rule in order to pass the “Roe v. Wade” case into federal law.
In an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR), she expressed support for overturning the Senate’s 60-vote requirement, to reinstate the “Roe v. Wade” case and federalize the abortion issue nationwide.
The Senate rule “allows a minority to block legislation before it gains a supermajority vote,” and repealing the rule “will make it easier to pass laws related to abortion rights.”
“I think we should get rid of the filibuster on Roe. Get to 51 votes, so that we can really codify into law reproductive freedom and the ability for each and every woman to make decisions about her body, not have the government tell them what to do,” she said on the show.
Her remarks caught the attention of West Virginia Independent Senator Joe Manchin, a staunch supporter of the filibuster.
CNN reported on Tuesday that Manchin said in the Capitol, “She (Harris) should be ashamed. She knows the filibuster is a holy grail for Democrats. It’s the only thing that keeps us talking and working together. If she gets rid of that, then it will be a steroid Senate.”
Harris also stated, “We have the capacity” to hold the majority of seats in the Senate for the Democrats and “take back the House”.
She said, “I want to emphasize that while the presidential election is crucial in shaping our future direction, it also relates to what we need to do to retain the Senate and win House seats.”
“As long as we have two more Senate seats, we can codify Roe v. Wade, we can enshrine Roe’s protections into law,” she said.