Republican vice presidential nominee and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance defended his tax proposals on Thursday after CNBC's Joe Kernen likened them to “the industrial policy that Democrats are criticized for.”
On “Squawk Box,” Kernen suggested there may be a “gap” between Vance's economic beliefs and those of Republican nominee Donald Trump, noting that the Republican senator has previously called for higher corporate tax rates. Vance has made it clear that companies that create jobs in the U.S. should be required to pay lower corporate tax rates, while companies that ship jobs overseas should be required to pay higher taxes.
“What I said is we need to lower taxes on companies that create jobs here at home and raise tariffs on companies that ship jobs overseas and manufacture overseas,” Vance said. “If they're using Chinese slave labor and trying to exploit the American market to make a profit on their products, I think — and I know Donald Trump thinks so too — those companies should be punished. But we want companies that are investing in America, that are hiring Americans, that are creating good American jobs to thrive. But we have to recognize that there's a fundamental difference between domestic companies and foreign companies that are profiting from slave labor.”
Kernen compared this argument to the populist beliefs often espoused by Democrats.
“This seems to be the kind of industrial policy that Democrats are being criticized for,” Kernen said, but Vance pushed back.
“No, it's not. Whatever you want to call it, the issue is that Chinese slaves are making $2 a day and they're being made to work 72 hours a week when they want to work 70 hours a week and they're being whipped,” Vance said. “Do we want to allow American manufacturers to profit from that cheap labor? Not only will that destroy good American jobs and wages, but I think it will destroy our core manufacturing and make us less productive in the long run.”
'Call it what you want': JD Vance fires back at CNBC host for comparing his tax proposal to populist policies pic.twitter.com/LrFAoaDBwE
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 12, 2024
Before becoming Trump's running mate, the Ohio senator opposed proposals to cut the corporate tax rate from the current 21% to 15%. tell Semaphore said in May that there was “no need to cut rates any further.”
Vance said American jobs and wages are hurt when companies profit from cheap Chinese slave labor overseas, and argued that the U.S. needs to rely on trade that benefits American workers. (Related: “Why aren't we talking?”: CNBC's Rick Santelli slams debate moderators for their economic ignorance)
“Donald Trump believes in trade, I believe in trade,” Vance said, “but we want to keep trade that actually benefits American workers, not destroys American jobs. So, my final point is, as we've seen in this campaign, there are a lot of outside groups that try to claim that President Trump and I agree with everything they say. President Trump gives his opinion, I give my opinion, so don't necessarily think that everything you read about me or him is true. Obviously they've lied a lot about him.”
“But he really believes, and he's been right for 40 years, that we need to produce more at home and build on America, and we need corporate tax policies that encourage that. And certainly that means being penalized for moving jobs overseas,” Vance continued.
The vice presidential candidate accused the media and Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign of misrepresenting President Trump's economic policies as leading to inflation.
Harris announced a plan in August to raise the corporate tax rate to 28% from the current 21% and has come under fire for her proposal to impose a federal ban on “corporate price gouging” to lower grocery prices and pass higher taxes on first-time consumers. Home Buyers It provides $25,000 in down payment assistance and imposes a 25% tax on unrealized capital gains for individuals with assets over $100 million.
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