Biden is pledging to invest $300 billion in research and development over four years that would be spread across the U.S.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is laying out a plan to rebuild the U.S. economy that includes cracking down on outsourcing, investing billions in research and development and creating at least 5 million jobs in manufacturing and innovation.
The plan places a major emphasis on “Buy American” provisions that would tighten restrictions on what qualifies as a U.S.-made good and invest $400 billion in government procurement, both of which the Democratic presidential candidate’s campaign says will help power demand for American products and services.
Biden is pledging to invest $300 billion in research and development over four years that would be spread across the U.S. to a diverse array of businesses and entrepreneurs, including women and minorities. The spending would spark what campaign officials called “high-quality job creation” around the country.
He is also calling for a pro-worker trade strategy in which the U.S. will work with its global allies and within World Trade Organization rules to get tough on China, which he blames for harming American workers and contributing to a decline in U.S. manufacturing.
“Joe Biden’s going to fight like hell for American workers through trade, enforcing deals and rallying the world to take on China’s abuses,” a senior Biden campaign official told reporters on a press call.
The moves come as part of Biden’s four-part “Build Back Better” economic plan, which was released Thursday morning and which focuses on clean energy, the caregiving workforce and racial equity as well as trade and manufacturing. But senior campaign officials sharing details Wednesday night focused on the latter subject, saying information on the other “pillars” will be released later.
Officials sought to draw contrasts with the current administration, saying “the Trump trade strategy has simply failed.” But when asked whether Biden would reverse any of President Donald Trump’s major trade policy moves — including withdrawing from the preliminary trade deal signed with China or lifting tariffs on steel and aluminum imports — an official declined to commit, saying the former vice president would have to review each of those issues once in office.
Trump himself won the presidency in 2016 pledging to cut down on outsourcing, revive American manufacturing and take on Beijing.
Officials, who spoke on background, emphasized this plan is “not just a response to Donald Trump’s massive mismanagement of the pandemic” but also aims to address longstanding weaknesses and inequities in the economy.
“Vice President Biden truly believes that this is no time to just build back to the way things were before,” one official said. “This, he believes, is the moment to imagine and build the new American economy for our families and next generation.”
This blog originally appeared at Politico on July 9, 2020. Reprinted with permission.
About the Author: Megan Cassella is a trade reporter for POLITICO Pro. Before joining the trade team in June 2016, Megan worked for Reuters based out of Washington, covering the economy, domestic politics and the 2016 presidential campaign. It was in that role that she first began covering trade, including Donald Trump’s rise as the populist candidate vowing to renegotiate NAFTA and Hillary Clinton’s careful sidestep of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
