We looked at the Republican platform earlier this summer, and now we’re looking at what the Democrats are up to.
The Democratic National Convention kicks off in Chicago on Monday, a four-day event in which the party will make its case to Americans to elect Vice President Kamala Harris as the next US president.
Before the tournament, we held an official Democratic Party Platform To find out where the Democratic Party stands on a range of manufacturing issues. Remember, this is not an endorsement. As a nonpartisan organization, we are dedicated to working with both parties to advance public policies that strengthen manufacturing and create good-paying factory jobs. Also, A deep dive into Republican policies I’ll be back in July.
The Democratic version is much longer than the Republican version. Page 91 Compared to Republican page 16Although it was only released on Sunday, it is already outdated. It was officially approved on July 16th. —This was while President Biden was still the party’s nominee. So, for example, there are a lot of references to Biden’s “second term.” And most of this document focuses specifically on Biden’s accomplishments. Harris was likely involved in much of this work as vice president, but she could potentially change at least some things if elected chief executive.
Either way, since this document is the official policy platform of the Democratic Party, it is worth paying attention to, especially given its emphasis on manufacturing issues. In fact, infrastructure investment and manufacturing growth feature early in the document’s first chapter, which focuses on the economy.
The party is touting some of the achievements of the current administration, especially when it comes to manufacturing.
Democrats are also taking historic steps to bring critical supply chains home and reaffirm our country’s leadership in cutting-edge industries that America has often pioneered. After the pandemic revealed our dependence on foreign-made semiconductors, we passed the CHIPS and SCIENCE Act, restoring America’s role in producing the tiny computer chips needed to make everything from cell phones to dishwashers to cars. And as the climate crisis makes the clean energy transition more urgent, we passed the Inflation Reduction Act and made the world’s largest investment in building renewable energy, electric vehicles and other green technologies domestically.
The President’s Invest in America policies have raised a historic $877 billion in private financing across the United States to date. Companies are investing hundreds of billions of dollars more to build new factories than under the Trump Administration. In fact, under President Biden, more than a dozen states have seen record private investment. We’ve designated more than 30 areas as tech hubs, from Reno, Nevada, to Charlotte, North Carolina, to north-central Pennsylvania. We’ve also ensured that a higher share of investment goes to low-income counties. Now, instead of exporting American jobs overseas for cheaper labor, we’re creating American jobs and exporting our products, leaving no one behind.
The Democratic platform also points to the creation of “nearly 800,000 new manufacturing jobs, 880,000 new construction jobs, building the roads and factories and the dreams of our future.” The party also claims the administration has worked to strengthen Buy America provisions.
President Biden’s policies require federally funded infrastructure projects to include wage and labor protections. We are also ensuring that these projects use American-made products by strengthening “Buy American” procurement rules to the toughest level in 70 years. This means that all federally funded infrastructure projects will be built by American workers using American-made steel, lumber, drywall, concrete and other products. Additionally, my Administration has taken historic steps to ensure that these workers are paid prevailing wages, have a free and fair choice to join a union, and encourage collective bargaining agreements on projects.
The party’s fourth chapter focuses on energy and climate change, arguing that a Biden administration “will unleash a clean energy boom, drastically reduce pollution, lower energy costs, and have already created more than 300,000 good-paying clean energy jobs in the United States,” including through significant investments in manufacturing, the party claims.
“President Biden’s ‘Invest in America’ package is the largest clean energy investment in history, already mobilizing more than $400 billion from the private sector to develop and manufacture solar, wind, battery and other clean technologies domestically,” the document states. “585 new clean energy manufacturing projects are currently underway in 47 states, including coastal and often left-behind communities. Since the landmark climate change law was passed, approximately 81% of investments have been directed to counties with below-average weekly wages.”
Democrats again point to Buy America in this section of the document, noting that Biden’s policies include “expanded Buy Clean and Buy America standards, requiring federal projects to use low-carbon, U.S.-made cement, steel and other materials, and providing credits for private companies to do the same, creating more American jobs.”
Though Democrats reaffirm the party’s commitment to investing in manufacturing throughout the document, the DNC platform doesn’t specifically address trade policy until later in the document. In fact, foreign policy as a whole isn’t mentioned until Chapter 9 (page 77, for those keeping track), a section that spends most of its time on Ukraine and the war in the Middle East.
But the platform also has trade-focused positions. The document praises Biden’s stance on China, noting that the current president “has remained steadfast in his commitment to be tough but smart on China.” The platform continues:
We have no excuses for opposing unfair trade practices that harm American workers. And we are wary of China exploiting America’s openness to use American technology for the benefit of America, our allies, and our interests. Against this backdrop, we seek to “de-risk” and diversify our economic relationship, not “decouple.” We will protect a targeted number of sensitive technologies with targeted restrictions, creating a “narrow yard, high fences” to safeguard our national security.
President Biden has taken decisive action to counter China’s unfair economic practices and level the playing field for American workers, strategically raising tariffs on a wide range of products, including steel, aluminum, semiconductors, electric vehicles, batteries, critical minerals, solar, ship-to-shore cranes, and medical products.
Democrats are criticizing former president and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s plans to impose basic tariffs, including a 60% tariff, on Chinese imports. “Trump’s tantrums are damaging our alliances and would hurt the American people if he is elected,” the party wrote.
“Under President Biden, the United States is working with domestic and foreign partners to advance a modern industrial and innovation strategy,” the Democratic National Committee platform states. “This strategy focuses on strengthening our economic and technological strength, promoting diverse and resilient global supply chains, and setting high standards for labor, environmental practices, trustworthy technology, and good governance. It also aims to channel capital toward providing public goods like climate solutions and medical advances.”
This platform is Written and approved when Biden was a candidate — It’s entirely possible that Harris, if elected, might try to change some of those positions, or perhaps put less emphasis on what Biden advocated for and more on different policy priorities, but at the same time, it’s going to be hard for the party to move forward with it unless Harris at least broadly agrees with the points made in this document.
Either way, it’s clear from both the Republican and Democratic platform that manufacturing will undoubtedly remain a part of the policy debate throughout the election, so keep an eye on what both candidates have to say in the coming weeks.
