Republicans have pledged to make manufacturing a key part of their 2024 agenda. Here’s what’s included in that plan — and what’s missing.
The Republican National Convention is scheduled to take place next week in the blue-collar city of Milwaukee. Strong manufacturing historyFormer President Donald Trump is expected to travel to New York for the big event, where he and his fellow Republicans will make a case to Americans why they deserve to win the presidential election in November.
Given the Recent event In this election involving two major presidential candidates, it’s impossible to predict what will happen in Milwaukee, or in a few weeks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. We’re still a long way from the November election, and we’re not endorsing any particular candidate, because we’re a bipartisan organization committed to working with both parties to advance public policies that will strengthen manufacturing and create good-paying factory jobs.
That said, I think it’s worth looking at some of the specific policy proposals that both parties have put forward. Let’s start today with the Republican National Committee. Official platform announced on monday.
As many media outlets have already noted, this document It reflects Trump’s signature style.Capital letters are used throughout, and Trump’s distinctive speaking style is very prominent. The former president’s influence on the party is also reflected in the policy platform, and Trump has clearly changed Republican policy in many areas. Some surprised Republicans..
However, for the purposes of this blog, we will focus on language that directly impacts manufacturing policy, including trade, much of which can be found in the document’s fifth agenda item, “Stop Outsourcing and Transform America into a Manufacturing Superpower.”
Chapter 5 documentsIn the bill, titled “Protecting America’s Workers and Farmers,” the party delves further into policy proposals, including:
- The RNC is considering raising basic tariffs (President Trump has proposed 10% on all goods and 60% on Chinese products) and Trump Reciprocal Trade ActHe had previously revealed this on his campaign website.
- The party says it will “ensure strategic independence from China” through measures such as revoking China’s preferential trading status, which lowers tariffs and other trade barriers to the U.S. market. The RNC also says it will “phase out imports of essential goods” and “block Chinese acquisitions of U.S. real estate and industry.”
- The party says it wants to “save the American auto industry” by “repealing harmful regulations,” among other things. The Republican National Committee has directly criticized President Biden’s record here, saying it will work to “repeal Biden’s electric vehicle and other mandates.” The party also plans to “block imports of Chinese cars.”
- The RNC’s slogan is “Buy American, Hire American,” a phrase Trump often used during his time in the Oval Office. Led to the executive order on immigrationBiden later CancelledIn this section of the 2024 platform, the Republican National Committee says it will focus on “strengthening policies to buy American, hire American, and prohibit companies that outsource jobs from doing business with the federal government.”
Given the other big conservative policy that’s in the headlines right now, it’s striking that the Republican National Committee’s policy takes a pretty forthright stance on trade and manufacturing. Project 2025 The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 is much vaguer on these issues. Instead of offering a clear vision for trade, Project 2025 features a debate between two alternatives: a “case for fair trade” put forward by former Trump administration official Peter Navarro, and a “case for free trade” written by Kent Rathman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
What this shows is that while there may still be disagreement among right-wing think tanks on the issues of trade and manufacturing, the official party line is guided by Trump’s views on the issues. And Trump clearly supports tariffs and restrictive trade. It’s his party now.
But the RNC platform leaves out a few things. The RNC promises to “bring critical supply chains home” and lead the U.S. “to become a manufacturing superpower,” but doesn’t provide policy details in these areas. While the RNC has criticized Biden on EVs, it has not specified the party’s position on the types of industrial policies a Biden administration would pursue, such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, or the Curb Inflation Act.
The current White House has been happy to tout the success of these measures, and to this day This led to $877 billion in investment. Across the U.S. Aside from the EV tax credit, where do Trump and the Republican National Committee stand on these laws? Will they pursue their own industrial policy once they retake the White House?
Now that the RNC platform has been released, we will wait for the Democrats to unveil their vision, which could take a few weeks. Democratic National Convention It’s not due to begin until August 19th. However, given the Biden Administration’s emphasis on manufacturing and trade over the past four years (such as the aforementioned industrial policy and more recent actions to raise tariffs in strategic sectors), it’s likely that these issues will also feature in the platform. Stay tuned.
