Trump's address to manufacturers will center on "Made in the USA"
In his remarks to the National Association of Manufacturers Friday, President Trump will center his message around four of his favorite words: "Made in the U.S.A."
That's according to a senior administration official, who told reporters ahead of the speech Mr. Trump will focus his attention on the policy steps the administration has taken to help manufacturers already, and what he plans to do.
Granting "a big fat tax cut" is high on that list, and the official summed up the tax framework as being that "all about national unity."
"When we grow American manufacturing, we don't only grow our jobs and wages – we also grow the American spirit," President Trump will say, according to the official. "When we purchase products made in America, fashioned by our fellow citizens, we renew the bonds of national loyalty that link us all together."
The administration has come under scrutiny in recent weeks for failing to get a health care bill through Congress, and for the possibility of delay on the GOP tax plan.
In Indiana Wednesday, Mr. Trump unveiled a proposal that shrinks the number of tax brackets from seven to three: 12 percent, 25 percent, and 35 percent, and aims to put the corporate tax rate at 20 percent.
"Our framework includes our explicit commitment that tax reform will protect low-income and middle-income households, not the wealthy and well-connected," President Trump said at the time. "They can call me all they want. It's not going to help. I'm doing the right thing, and it's not good for me. Believe me."
But critics point to the proposed decrease in the top bracket from nearly 40 percent rate to 35 percent as a cut for America's richest bracket.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told "CBS This Morning" Thursday the administration is committed to making a tax plan that "absolutely" benefits the middle class, largely through economic growth that the administration predicts will come about from their proposal.
He argued those who fall in the 10 percent bracket, which is being increased to 12 percent, will not be negatively affected.
"Raising the standard deduction - effectively the 10-percent bracket, and I can assure you that there will be no one in the 10 percent that will be paying higher taxes," he said.
The head of the National Association of Manufacturers is enthusiastic about the proposals.
"Manufacturers in America have never been as enthusiastic or as optimistic about their future as they are this year, and that is because of the huge opportunity we have to get tax reform done," said the association's president and CEO, Jay Timmons.
