Trump courts auto workers with car loan tax break and China tariff plan

Looking to woo auto workers, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump introduced a proposal on Thursday that would tax deduct interest on car loans and impose strict tariffs on Chinese automakers. In a two hour speech at the Detroit Economic Club, Trump discussed the US auto industry, mocking electric vehicles and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union as well as Detroit's economic woes.

In a race that is expected to be close, battleground states like Michigan, where Detroit is located, will be crucial in deciding the result of the November 5 election. "Where is Detroit going to go?" Trump asked, warning that the whole country could be in trouble if Harris is elected. Trump said: "If she is your president, the whole country will end up being like Detroit."

One of the central planks of Trump’s plan is to make interest on car loans tax deductible, or at least to attempt to eliminate differential treatment between that incentive and existing ones like mortgage interest on federal tax returns. Trump said this would provide relief to auto workers and middle class Americans who depend on car loans to buy a car. The plan is the latest push for tax cuts promoted by Trump during the final weeks of his campaign.

Trump also vowed to prohibit Chinese automakers from selling vehicles in America and impose tariffs of 200% or higher on Mexican-built cars sold in America by Chinese companies. "If we had to, we would put up 100 percent, 200 percent, 1,000 percent," Trump said.

He also pledged to renegotiate the North American free trade deal to deal with complaints that Chinese vehicles are being built in Mexico and sold to the US, concerns he says were not addressed sufficiently in the trade accord Congress approved during his presidency. She has also promised to use the provisions of renegotiation if elected.

Bidding for the autoworkers in key swing states like Michigan, Trump's aggressive posture on trade and latest tax proposal speak volumes.