US Elections: Oil and Taxes Divide Trump and Harris… Customs Duties and Cryptocurrencies Bring Them Together

The global economy is awaiting the US presidential elections on November 5, between Donald Trump, the former president and Republican candidate, and Kamala Harris, the vice president and Democratic candidate. For 200 years, Americans have elected their president on the first Tuesday of November every four years. Here are the candidates’ positions on the economy.

Tariffs and Chinese Products

The former president plans to impose large new taxes on trade, indicating a tax of up to 20% on everything imported from abroad, including European exports, and 60% on imports from China, indicating that the product must be manufactured in America, and will not be eligible for any benefits, when outsourcing or in the event that American workers are transferred abroad or replaced.

In contrast, Harris adopts the current approach of the Biden administration, while continuing to use tariffs to enhance the competitiveness of domestic products, specifically with China, in addition to her promises to increase spending on health care and investment in infrastructure and renewable energy as part of her plan to boost the economy.

The Difference Over Taxes

Harris has pledged to cut taxes for middle- and low-income families, and provide tax breaks for small business owners and innovators. Her plans include increasing the tax deduction for startup costs by 10 times to $50,000 from $5,000, and aiming to generate 25 million new small business registrations, a number that exceeds the record 19 million (so far) recorded during Biden’s presidency. She also called for raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% in order to achieve tax fairness.

For his part, the former president seeks to reduce taxes on high-income earners and large corporations, and he recently floated in his campaign speeches the idea of ​​eliminating individual income taxes, which currently represent about $2.5 trillion in revenue brought in by the federal government annually. This idea preceded proposals such as eliminating taxes on car loan payments, Social Security benefits, and restaurant employee tips.

Seeking to reduce energy costs.. Harris backs down

Harris confirms her intention to expand production and keep prices low for consumers, while using clean energy technologies, and her intention to impose restrictions on shale oil activity. She also announced in the 2020 Democratic Party elections that she would ban hydraulic fracturing technology, but her campaign team announced her withdrawal from the ban position.

The profits of the five largest oil companies listed in the United States doubled during the first three years of Biden’s presidential term to $410 billion, compared to the same period of former President Trump’s administration, due to the rise in oil prices resulting from the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Crude oil and natural gas production also rose to a record level during the Biden administration, and average oil production, including condensates, reached 12.9 million barrels per day in 2023.

Republicans criticize the climate policies of current President Biden in terms of reducing oil and gas production and raising fuel prices, as they blame him for his policies hindering the energy independence of the United States.

Trump explained that he would boost oil production if he returned to the presidency, describing it as liquid gold, as Trump encourages increasing oil and gas production as much as possible, to achieve self-sufficiency, and expand the United States’ international influence through energy exports.

Digital assets: from describing them as fraud to launching a platform

During his presidency, Trump had described cryptocurrencies as fraud, but he turned into a supporter of cryptocurrencies, and they became part of his agenda in the “America First” program, and he also called for building a strategic reserve of “Bitcoin” based on cryptocurrencies confiscated by the government.

In September, Trump launched the World Liberty Financial platform, which allows users to trade digital currencies and borrow, and the platform offered 20 billion units of the digital currency last month, worth $300 million, at a price of 1.5 cents each, but the company’s website faced malfunctions earlier on Wednesday, which led to a decrease in sales, only 3% was sold in one day, as the company collected only $12 million, from the available tokens amounting to 20 billion.

Harris has made clear her opposition to the current president’s hardline policy against cryptocurrencies, stressing that if she wins the presidential election, she will encourage innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence and digital assets while protecting consumers and investors, with the importance of creating a safe business environment with clear and transparent rules. In order to build an economy of opportunity, she will bring together innovators, workers, and both small and large companies, calling for cooperation to invest in the capabilities of the United States for the future.