5 takeaways from Trump’s economic address in New York

Former President Trump on Thursday outlined his economic agenda if he is elected in November, doubling down on many of the policies that he leaned on during his first four years in office and vowing to undo numerous Biden administration moves.

Trump spoke to the Economic Club of New York, where he addressed a crowd of economists, business leaders and journalists to call for extended tax cuts, deregulation and tariffs on companies who outsource jobs or import products.

Here are five takeaways from his speech:

More tariffs and tax cuts

Trump signaled a potential second term would look much like his first when it comes to tax policy and tariffs.

The former president said he would push to extend the individual tax cuts enacted in 2017 that are set to expire in 2025. He also said he would push to lower the corporate tax rate even further than the 2017 law did, from 21 percent to 15 percent. Doing so would require congressional action.

Trump also made clear he would aggressively use tariffs to target companies that outsource jobs or do not manufacture products in the United States. The use of tariffs is particularly controversial, because many economists have warned it amounts to a tax on consumers that will raise prices.

But Trump on Thursday argued using tariffs would encourage companies to base their operations in the United States because of the risk of facing a “substantial tariff” if they shifted production overseas.

“The anti-tariff people, many of them I believe, honestly, work for these other countries in some form, get tremendous amounts of lobbying money and other money because it doesn’t make sense what they’re saying,” he said.

Goldman Sachs this week said in a note that a Trump-led government would lead to lower gross domestic output than a Vice President Harris-led one, mostly because of Trump’s plans to increase tariffs on imports. The Trump campaign on Thursday dismissed the Goldman Sachs outlook as partisan.

Government efficiency commission led by Musk

One concrete proposal from Trump’s speech was for the creation of a government efficiency commission, an idea first suggested to the former president by billionaire ally Elon Musk.

“I will create a government efficiency commission tasked with completing a complete financial and performance audit of the federal government and making recommendations for drastic reforms,” Trump said.

He added that Musk, the head of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of the social platform X, would lead the commission if he agreed to do so.

“I look forward to serving America if the opportunity arises,” Musk posted Thursday on X. “No pay, no title, no recognition is needed.”

Musk brought up the concept during a conversation with Trump that was broadcast on X last month, suggesting such a panel could study the national debt and how Congress could reassess spending.

A Penn Wharton Budget Model analysis released last month estimated the effects of an array of the Trump campaign’s economic proposals could add north of $4 trillion to the nation’s deficits over a decade.

Rescinding signature Biden law

Trump told the audience in New York that if he wins in November, a signature achievement of the Biden administration would be in trouble.

The former president said he would “rescind all unspent funds” under the Inflation Reduction Act, a $740 billion law passed with only Democratic votes in 2022. 

The law allowed Medicare to negotiate prices for some drugs and bolstered health insurance subsidies, incentivized climate-friendly practices — like the use of solar panels and electric vehicles — and allocated billions of dollars for the IRS to crack down on wealthy individuals and companies evading tax laws.

But Trump and other Republicans have blasted the law, arguing it contributed to rising costs of groceries, energy and other goods.

Rolling back environmental regulations

Trump, as he did during his 2016 campaign, told the crowd he would aggressively undo regulations if he is elected in November.

He pledged to do away with 10 regulations for every new one put in place. 

More specifically, he signaled he would reverse a wave of Biden administration rules intended to curb pollution and combat climate change. 

“I will end Kamala Harris’s anti-energy crusade and implement a policy of energy abundance, even energy independence and energy dominance,” Trump said, vowing to open additional land for drilling.

The former president said he would “blast through every bureaucratic approval” to approve drilling, pipelines, refineries, power plants and reactors, arguing that doing so would drastically cut energy prices.

Trump complained that the U.S. has ample reserves of rare minerals that are used to manufacture certain goods, but can’t get at them because of environmental protection rules.

The former president has also vowed to eliminate the Biden administration’s rules aimed at cutting planet-warming emissions and toxic pollution from power plants.

The Biden administration has placed some restrictions on drilling, but has approved other projects. Domestic oil production is projected to hit record highs this year.

Immigration crackdown framed as economic proposal

Trump repeatedly sprinkled in talk of immigration during his speech, signaling how he and his team view the two issues as intertwined.

The former president depicted migrants coming over the southern border as a grave threat to American jobs and wealth. 

“African Americans and Hispanic American jobs are under massive threat from the invasion taking place at our border,” Trump said.

He repeated a false assertion that 100 percent of jobs created under the Biden administration have gone to migrants.

Trump said he would ask Congress to pass legislation barring all taxpayer funded benefits for immigrants who entered the country illegally.

The former president has repeatedly vowed to carry out a massive deportation effort if he is elected, a plan that he has said would rely heavily on the cooperation of local police officers.