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US presidential candidate Donald Trump has promised tax breaks to international companies, including German carmakers, to encourage them to build factories in the United States if he wins the presidential election against his rival Kamala Harris.
“I want German car companies to become American car companies,” the Republican candidate and former president said at a campaign rally in the swing city of Savannah, Georgia, yesterday.
Trump, 78, added that if he wins the presidential election on November 5, he will make an offer to all the big companies.
“I will give you the lowest tax brackets, the lowest energy costs, the lowest regulatory burdens, and free access to the world’s best and largest markets, but only if you make your product here in America,” he continued.
He noted that the precondition for this is that companies hire American workers, adding: “If you don’t make your product here, you will have to pay fees, very large fees, when you send your product to the United States.”
Many American economists have criticized Trump’s idea of tariffs, noting that they amount to a tax on consumers, as history shows that these tariffs are usually passed on to the end consumer.
Trump reiterated that Germany had returned to using coal in its factories after failing to phase out fossil fuels.
But the German Foreign Ministry has made it clear that the country will stop using coal by 2038 at the latest.