Donald Trump fleshed out his economic agenda with a speech in Detroit on Monday. The Republican presidential nominee said he'd roll out more details in the coming weeks. We look at some of Trump's main promises so far, and how his strategy compares with both the current situation and the ideas from Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
On Energy
Current situation: Obama rejected Keystone and signed the U.S. to a United Nations pact to curb temperature increases. To bypass Congress, Obama used his executive powers to require reductions in greenhouse gases emitted by U.S. power plants. He also halted all new mining projects on federal lands.
Trump's proposal: He wants to undo President Barack Obama's signature climate actions -- revoke executive action on carbon emissions, grant TransCanada Corp.’s bid to build the Keystone XL pipeline and cancel an international agreement to limit global warming through new environmental standards. He wants to expand offshore drilling and revive coal. He says his plan to lift restrictions on the energy industry could boost output by $100 billion a year.
Clinton's take: The broad strokes are basically a continuation of Obama's policies with a detail-rich focus on clean energy jobs and renewable energy, particularly solar. On the campaign she said she would put a lot of coal miners out of business and that fracking needs to be highly regulated.
On Personal and Corporate Taxes
Current situation: Under current law, the top statutory tax rate for corporations is 35 percent. Also, companies can defer taxes on their offshore income until they decide to bring the earnings back to the U.S., or repatriate them.
Trump's proposal: Trump calls for lowering tax rates on businesses and individuals, terming the reductions as the biggest since Ronald Reagan. He would slash business income tax rates to 15 percent and consolidate the existing seven individual income tax rates to just three -- at 12 percent, 25 percent and 33 percent. Trump also wants to end corporations' ability to defer paying taxes on their overseas income and he'd institute a "deemed repatriation tax'' of 10 percent on more than $2 trillion in income that companies have stockpiled overseas.
Clinton's take: Clinton would create a new 30 percent minimum tax rate on individuals earning over $1 million, and add a 4 percent surtax on income over $5 million. She has also proposed a tax on some high-frequency trading transactions and an "exit tax'' on the unrepatriated earnings of U.S. firms that are shifting their tax addresses offshore via corporate inversions.
On Trade
Current situation: America's annual trade deficit has been lower in recent years than it was before the financial crisis, but the nation still imported $500.4 billion more in goods and services than it exported in 2015. NAFTA has been a topic of debate since its 1994 inception. The TPP, a trade agreement among Pacific Rim countries, is still awaiting ratification.
Trump's proposal: Trump wants to narrow the trade deficit, renegotiate NAFTA, withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and label China a currency manipulator.
Clinton's take: Clinton has also said that she'd like to renegotiate NAFTA, opposes the TPP and wants to prevent countries like China from abusing global trade rules by strengthening enforcement. In addition, she's proposed a program that would discourage companies from shifting jobs and profits overseas.
On Childcare
Current situation: The U.S. has retained the unsavory distinction of being the third-most expensive for childcare among 34 countries, according to 2012 data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Those bills have proven to outpace rent and tuition costs in most states, often threatening to derail parents' plans around housing and employment.
Trump's proposal: His plan allows American families to exclude childcare costs from taxable income, deriding it as the single-biggest expense for most families.
Clinton's take: Her proposal on childcare includes tax relief, but is more focused on government support and broader investments in early childhood education, while pledging to ensure that no family has to spend more than 10 percent of income on high-quality care.
On Regulation
Current situation: Most Dodd-Frank rules, which are sweeping bank reforms that put new capital requirements on big banks and banned proprietary trading in the wake of the financial crisis, are near completion or final.
Trump's proposal: Trump proposes a moratorium on new agency regulations, and said he'll eliminate ones deemed unnecessary. Trump has previously said he intends to repeal the Dodd-Frank Act.
Clinton's take: Clinton has promised to reign in Wall Street by enforcing Dodd-Frank and vetoing any legislation that weakens it, as well as possibly looking at other regulations.
- Michelle Jamrisko, Sunny Oh, John Voskuhl, Jeanna Smialek and Lisa Du, Bloomberg News
