In the United States, less than a month remains until the presidential elections to be held on November 5th. American voters are focusing on the economic promises of presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Important differences have been noted in the economic prescriptions of the two candidates.

Donald Trump, the Republican candidate running for president in the U.S., and Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, are drawing attention with their different visions in economic policies. Despite the slowdown in inflation, American voters continue to struggle with high living costs, focusing on the economic promises of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. While Trump and Harris primarily focus on reducing consumer prices, they offer different prescriptions to the voters.

Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Trump, aims to implement new tariffs, provide tax cuts, and increase fossil fuel production if he takes the presidential seat for a second time. Trump argues that fair trade, tax cuts, reducing regulations, and the abundance of energy combined will result in more goods being produced better and cheaper in the U.S.

If Trump returns to the White House, there is a risk of increasing commercial tensions with the European Union (EU) as well as China. Trump, who imposed tariffs on products imported from China in 2018 and added additional customs duties on steel and aluminum imported from other countries, including U.S. allies, signals that he will apply additional tariffs if he sits in the presidential seat for a second time.

Harris, who has been relatively quiet on global trade issues, is expected to continue Biden’s trade policies by maintaining tariffs on many products imported from China and increasing tariffs on products such as steel and aluminum, critical minerals, and solar panels imported from the country to support domestic production in critical industries and negotiating disagreements on steel and aluminum with some allies.

While both Trump and Harris promise to reduce taxes, they offer very different tax plans. It is seen that there are hardly any issues where the two candidates adopt the same view except for removing taxes on tips for those working in the service sector.

Trump aims to make the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act from 2017 which will expire next year permanently and calls for the implementation of additional tax cuts. Trump aims to reduce the federal corporate tax rate from 21% to 15% if re-elected. Trump promises to allow interest on car loans to be deducted from taxes, thinking this will promote domestic car manufacturing. In addition, he promises tax cuts for American citizens living abroad to end double taxation.

Harris, on the other hand, aims to reduce the tax burden on low and middle-income households while planning to increase the corporate tax to partially compensate for this. Harris plans to expand tax cuts for families with children, increasing tax relief to $3,600 for families with children under the age of 5 and $3,000 for families with older children aged 5 and above.

Harris plans to implement new tax regulations to reduce housing costs and also to extend tax incentives to construction companies building homes for first-time homeowners and provide down payment assistance up to $25,000 for first-time homebuyers. Harris aims to expand the existing tax incentives for companies building affordable rental housing.

Harris is expected to continue the energy and environmental policies followed in the Biden administration. Harris believes that it is essential to invest in “various energy sources” to reduce the U.S.’s dependence on foreign oil. Additionally, Harris considers the Paris Agreement as crucial to tackling climate change.

Trump believes that the U.S. president should have a say in the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decisions. Trump criticizes Jerome Powell, the current Fed Chair, for the bank’s monetary policy decisions. Trump argues that there are ways to reduce inflation without raising interest rates and generally advocates for lowering interest rates. If re-elected, it is expected that Trump will allow Powell to complete his term as the Fed Chair until 2026.

Harris, on the other hand, states that she respects the independence of the Fed. Harris promises that she will “never interfere” in the decisions made by the Fed if elected president.