“We will seek to engage transition team members of the new administration to educate incoming leadership about the tire manufacturing industry's position, economic contribution to the nation, the safety innovation that benefits consumers on the road and the issues facing our industry,” the RMA said in a statement to Tire Business.
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) noted on its website that both candidates made small business an issue at the first presidential debate, held Sept. 26 at Hofstra University on Long Island, N.Y.
“I want to invest in you,” Ms. Clinton said during that debate. “I want us to invest in your future. That means jobs in advanced manufacturing, innovation and technology, clean, renewable energy, and small business — because most of the new jobs will come from small business.”
Ms. Clinton promised to cut and streamline regulations for small business, the NFIB said, but also said she favors paid family leave and an increase in the minimum wage, two things the NFIB opposes.
Mr. Trump said he would reduce the top corporate tax rate to 15 percent from 35 for both small and big businesses. “That's going to be a job creator like we haven't seen since Ronald Reagan,” he said. “It's going to be a beautiful thing to watch.”
Positions
Following is a list of Ms. Clinton's and Mr. Trump's positions on major trade and economic issues, in capsule form, gathered from their campaign websites and other sources:
Besides lowering the corporate tax rate, Mr. Trump would limit the top ordinary income tax rate to 33 percent; cap the top rate on capital gains to 20 percent; and repeal the estate tax, a major issue for TIA and other small business associations.
Ms. Clinton's position on a top corporate tax rate is unclear, but she would leave the top ordinary income tax rate at its current 43.6 percent rate; allow a 47.4-percent top rate on capital gains; and return the estate tax to its pre-2001 rate of 45 percent on estates of $3.5 million or more.
Ms. Clinton, who has advocated universal healthcare since the early 1990s—during her husband Bill Clinton's administration—would retain and build on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and work with interested state governors to establish a public option plan.
Mr. Trump would repeal the ACA in its entirety in favor of allowing people to buy health insurance across state lines and making healthcare premiums tax-deductible.
Mr. Trump's most detailed position statement is probably on trade. Among other things, he has said he would withdraw from the TPP; direct the Commerce Department and other relevant agencies to identify and counter every trade agreement violation committed by foreign countries; renegotiate the terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to give U.S. workers a better deal; and instruct the Secretary of the Treasury to identify China as a currency manipulator.
Ms. Clinton, an early supporter of the TPP, has said she now opposes the trade agreement as it is written. She too has said that she will crack down on China and other countries that abuse global trade rules, and that she would like to renegotiate NAFTA.
(Mr. Littlefield said TIA is not enthusiastic about renegotiating NAFTA, because officials of the former International Tire & Rubber Association worked so hard in the 1990s to negotiate an equitable deal for retreaders in that agreement.)
Mr. Trump maintains that climate change is a hoax — and is on record speculating China is behind the premise. That's a position Ms. Clinton strongly rejects.
The candidates agree that hydraulic fracturing (fracking) should not be banned, but they part ways on whether offshore drilling should be banned and whether the U.S. should stay in the Paris climate accord.
Ms. Clinton would strengthen environmental regulations and give support to clean-energy initiatives; in the Sept. 26 debate, Mr. Trump brought up the solar developer Solyndra L.L.C., which went bankrupt despite more than $500 million in federal loans. “I'm a great believer in all forms of energy, but we're putting a lot of people out of work,” he claimed of the clean energy industry.
Ms. Clinton has more recommendations on how to stimulate U.S. business and help U.S. workers than on any other subjects. In her first 100 days as president, she said she will work with both business and labor to make major investments in infrastructure, manufacturing, research and technology, clean energy and small business. She also has said she supports raising the federal minimum wage to $12 an hour and will support state and local efforts to raise minimum wages to $15; invest in high-quality training, apprenticeship and skill-building programs; reward companies that invest in their workers and share profits; and fight for equal pay for women and for guaranteed paid leave.
Mr. Trump has no section on his campaign website devoted to labor. He has promised to “create a dynamic booming economy that will create 25 million new jobs over the next decade.”
His jobs growth plan includes the aforementioned tax cuts and a “complete regulatory overhaul” including repeal of the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan and a moratorium on new federal regulations “that are not compelled by Congress or public safety,” along with oft-repeated claims that he will bring back to the U.S. jobs taken offshore by American companies.
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