Trump floats expanded R&D business tax credits, says he would appoint 'manufacturing ambassador'

• Donald Trump unveiled several new manufacturing proposals at a rally in Savannah, Georgia, in an effort to sharpen his economic platform as Vice President Kamala Harris prepares a new policy rollout of her own.
• Trump said he would give U.S.-based manufacturers a first-year tax write-off for all R&D expenses, walking back a major component of his 2017 tax law.
• The former president also said he would appoint a specialized "manufacturing ambassador" if he wins a second term in the White House.

Former President Donald Trump unveiled several new manufacturing proposals at a rally in Savannah, Georgia, on Tuesday, part of an effort to sharpen his economic platform as Vice President Kamala Harris prepares a new policy rollout of her own.

The Republican presidential nominee said if he were elected, he would reward U.S.-based manufacturers with expanded research and development tax credits, which would allow businesses to "write off 100% of the cost of heavy machinery and other equipment in the first year."

If implemented, this proposal would reverse a major component of Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which phased out traditional R&D tax credits.

Starting in 2022, businesses were no longer allowed to write off their R&D expenses the same year they incurred them. Instead, they have to amortize their R&D costs over five years and then write off that value, the effect of which is often to shrink the tax benefits.

Trump's proposal on Tuesday appeared to walk back that piece of the TCJA. "You're going to get full expensing. In other words, you have a one-year write-off," he said.

The former president also said he would appoint a specialized "manufacturing ambassador" if he wins a second term in the White House. This appointee