Trump promises incentives for foreign companies to relocate

Donald Trump offered a series of incentives to encourage foreign companies to relocate to the United States if he wins the Nov. 5 election and pledged to create special manufacturing zones on federal lands.

The Republican presidential candidate said during his speech in Georgia the incentives, which include low taxes and few regulations, would be offered only to companies that relocated manufacturing to the US and hired American workers.

"I want German car companies to become American car companies. I want them to build their plants here," Trump said.

Companies that did not make their goods in the U.S., however, would face "a very substantial tariff" when sending their products into the United States, he said.

Trump was speaking in Savannah, which has one of the largest ports in the US and is a car manufacturing hub.

Trump said he would reward US-based manufacturers with tax breaks for research and development costs and the ability to write off the costs of heavy machinery in the first year.

It is unclear what federal lands would be offered to foreign companies under Trump's plan, or how such an arrangement would work. If land remains in federal hands while foreign companies operate on it, those companies could in theory be exempt from property tax.

Trump also reiterated a pledge to lower corporate tax rates, but only for companies that manufacture domestically. The former president said earlier this month that he would cut the rate to 15% from 21% for domestic manufacturers.

Trump also took aim at Vice President Kamala Harris's possible visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, reportedly scheduled. Trump accused Harris of waiting too long to address the border crisis.

"And finally she's been going to the border for years. What a disgrace that is that she waited so long,” he said.