These are the main economic proposals of the winner
Reverse Trump's tax reform, economic stimulus plans and increase investments in technology and renewables, among the priorities of the Democratic leader
Joe Biden's economic program exposed during the electoral campaign consists of raising taxes on large companies, betting on the productive change towards technological and renewable infrastructures and raising the minimum wage. These proposals, which must be modulated given the balance of forces in the House of Representatives and the Senate, come at a critical time for the economy of the world's leading power, since the coronavirus pandemic has put an end to the economic expansion more long in the history of the American giant and millions of citizens have been unemployed.
Stimulus plan
The most urgent measure will be to carry out a stimulus plan to fight the effects of the pandemic, which gives continuity to those already approved in the initial moments of the Covid. In the first months of the crisis, the US Congress gave the green light to a series of laws that allowed injecting 3.4 trillion dollars in aid to the economy, including support programs for companies, citizens and local governments. Since May, the main parties, the Democrat and the Republican, have not agreed on new advances in this line.
To give continuity to the stimulus, the Democrats proposed a plan of 2.2 trillion dollars and it was the one that focused the negotiations with the Trump administration before the elections of November 3. Republicans, who will probably revalidate their majority in the Senate, have refused to accept that figure of 2.2 trillion and lowered it to around 1.8 trillion. The division of the chambers will therefore again force negotiations to carry out the plan.
Fiscal policy
Beyond the stimulus plan, one of the great chapters of Biden's economic program focuses on taxes. Biden proposes to partially reverse Trump's tax reform, and raise corporate tax from 21% to 28% - with a minimum effective rate of 15%. Even so, it would not return to the 35% rate that was in the Obama term. The Democratic candidate also raises increases in income tax for the highest salaries and in inheritance tax.
With the tax increases, the investment fund manager M&G Investments estimates that the state "would raise about $ 3.2 trillion within 10 years."
Biden plans to raise corporate tax from 21% to 28%
All this in a context in which the deficit of the State can skyrocket after the pandemic. The Congressional Budget Office "predicts that the federal deficit for 2020 will be around $ 3.3 trillion, which is equivalent to 16% of US GDP. This is the largest relative deficit (relative to the size of the economy) since 1945. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the budget deficit in 2019 was $ 1 trillion a year, "the experts add.
Recover employment with "national" products
The Democratic candidate's campaign has designed a $ 700 billion economic plan to boost US manufacturing through the purchase of domestic products; an idea that, according to their calculations, will mean more than five million jobs in those sectors. The program has been dubbed "Build Back Better."
It also wants to stimulate technological innovation, reduce dependence on other countries such as China and "rebuild the middle class" with tax policies that help small and medium businesses, not just large ones, according to Efe.
Biden foresees investments in infrastructure and also in renewable energy. It also proposes investments in agriculture, technological innovation and in the real estate sector to build sustainable homes. Proposes to discount the purchase of electric vehicles and renewable energies
Trade agreements
The trade war with China that the United States has intensified during the presidency of Donald Trump may not end permanently with the arrival of Biden to the White House.
Biden's victory may ease trade tension, but friction with China wouldn't go away, analysts say
Trump's attempt to balance the trade balance with China was one of the first reasons for imposing tariffs on Beijing, but the battle has not prevented China's trade surplus against the United States from rising in September to 213.46 billion yuan (31.653 billion yuan). dollars, 26,834 million euros), 17.9% more than a year earlier. For the Chinese Customs spokesman, Li Kuiwen, it is due to the sale of machinery, electronic products and medicines, reports Efe.
Biden's victory may reduce trade tension, but the friction would not disappear, analysts say. Democrats have abandoned their previous almost complete endorsement of international trade agreements and have taken a tougher stance in this regard. "Although a Biden presidency would probably be positive for Asian companies that do business with the United States compared to the alternative, the idyllic stage of unrestricted international trade under Presidents Clinton, Bush Jr. and Obama seems to be a thing of the past," they say since M&G.
Raise the minimum wage
Joe Biden aims to raise the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour, from the current $ 7.25. “People earn six, seven, eight dollars an hour (...) They deserve a minimum wage of 15 dollars. Anything below that puts you below the poverty level, "said the Democratic candidate during an electoral debate. It also proposes to improve unemployment insurance and improve the conditions of student loans to access university.
Climate change and Health
The United States officially abandoned the Paris Agreement last week, fulfilling Donald Trump's promise to withdraw the country - the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world - from the treaty to fight climate change. But it may be for a short time, as the new US president has promised to rejoin the deal.
During the campaign, Biden presented a plan to address climate change with an investment of 1.7 trillion dollars and achieve 100% clean energy by 2050, using in part the proceeds of reversing a tax cut on companies in the government of Donald Trump.
The proposal calls for investing $ 1.7 trillion over 10 years in clean energy research and modernizing infrastructure to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, which scientists blame for accelerating climate change and its effects.
The proposal considers investing 1.7 trillion dollars in 10 years in clean energy research
Precisely the treatment of the oil industry was one of the issues that faced Trump and Biden in the last presidential debate. Biden said then that he believed the country should replace oil with solar, wind and other forms of clean energy. However, after the debate, Biden was forced to clarify to journalists that he was referring to a plan to stop subsidizing fossil fuels. "We are not going to do away with fossil fuels," Biden said. "We are not going to get rid of fossil fuels for a long time ... they are not going to lose their jobs. Also, many more jobs will be created in other alternatives."
Biden also proposes to recover repealed portions of Obama's health care reform. For the democrat, the coronavirus "has evidenced" the failures of the US health. Among others, he has promised that if he wins, he will guarantee citizens can be tested for coronavirus at no cost.
Antitrust Regulation Against Tech
The excessive market power accumulated by large technology companies is one of the concerns of Democrats in Congress, who launched a 16-month investigation into Amazon.com, Facebook, Google (owned by Alphabet) and Apple. After closing its conclusions, the expert panel of the House of Representatives led by Democratic legislators asked Congress to force these companies to separate their internet platforms from other lines of business. The document indicates that Facebook and Google have monopoly power, while Apple and Amazon have "significant and lasting market power", and also criticizes the US antitrust agencies, which are said not to they have managed to limit the dominance of these companies.
However, the division in Congress suggests that these proposals will not be able to go ahead, which has driven the listing of technology companies on the stock market in recent sessions.
What can receive support from the Biden government, if it reaches the White House, is the antitrust lawsuit filed against Google by the US Department of Justice. Experts consulted by Reuters maintain that the Biden Department of Justice will do one of these two things: support the process to the end or amend the lawsuit to add new claims. "What they will not do is forget about the case," they say.
Analysts believe that, through legislation or through justice, the Biden administration would commit to doing “much more to ensure that the excessive market power of any company ... does not harm the families and workers of the United States. ”According to representatives of the Biden campaign.
