Harris promises tax breaks and investments for American manufacturers

US Vice President Kamala Harris said on Wednesday she would offer tax credits to domestic manufacturers and invest in sectors that will “define the next century,” as she outlined her economic plan to boost the American middle class.

Speaking at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh in the key swing state of Pennsylvania, the Democratic candidate for the Nov. 5 presidential election said she would provide tax credits to U.S. manufacturers to retool or rebuild existing factories and expand “good union jobs,” and would double the number of registered apprentices during her first term.

Harris also promised new investments in industries such as biomanufacturing, aerospace, artificial intelligence and clean energy.

Harris’ speech, which lasted just under 40 minutes, did not detail how these policies would work. She highlighted her upbringing by a single mother, in contrast to former President Donald Trump, the wealthy son of a New York real estate developer.

“I have pledged that building a strong middle class will be the defining goal of my presidency,” Harris said, adding that she sees the election as a moment of choice between two “fundamentally different” visions of the American economy, held by her and her Republican opponent, Trump.

The vice president and Trump are focusing their campaign message on the economy, which Reuters/Ipsos polls show is the top concern for voters as the election approaches.

The gap between rich and poor has grown in recent decades. The share of American households in the middle class, defined as those with two-thirds or twice the median household income, has fallen from about 62% in 1970 to 51% in 2023, Pew Research shows. Incomes of these households have also not grown as fast as those at the top.

Harris said she was committed to working with the private sector and entrepreneurs to help grow the middle class. Harris told the audience she is “a capitalist” who believes in “free and fair markets,” and described her policies as pragmatic rather than rooted in ideology.

In recent months, Harris has chipped away at Trump’s lead on the economy, with a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday showing the Republican candidate holding a marginal 2 percentage point lead on “the economy, unemployment and jobs,” down from 11 points at the end of July.

Trump discussed his economic plan in North Carolina on Wednesday and said Harris’ role as vice president now gave her the opportunity to improve the Biden administration’s economic record.

“Families are hurting right now. So if you have a plan, you should stop showing off and carry it out,” she said. While Trump has proposed widespread tariffs on goods made overseas — a proposal backed by a slim majority of voters — Harris is focusing on offering incentives to companies to keep their operations in the United States.

Boosting American manufacturing in industries like semiconductors and bringing back jobs that have moved overseas in recent decades have also been major goals for Biden. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act (all passed in 2021 and 2022) fund a range of subsidies and tax incentives that encourage companies to locate projects in disadvantaged regions.

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