2023-08-01 05:45:00
Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis said he would consider a nationwide ban on the popular video-sharing app TikTok if elected, citing the growing threat from China to the United States.
“I tend not to want TikTok in the U.S.,” DeSantis told The Wall Street Journal. “I think it opens us up to a security hole. I think they’re mining a lot of data.”
The Florida governor also said he would seek to remove Fed Chairman Jerome Powell before his term expires in 2026, in another sign of his continued criticism of the central bank, and said he would support the creation of a The rules governing how the Fed sets interest rates.
Regarding TikTok, DeSantis also mentioned the service’s possible impact on children, calling it “very, very toxic.” But he stressed he would not go as aggressive as the Restrict Act, a bipartisan measure in the Senate that would allow the president to take action once morest a range of foreign software and services from U.S. adversaries.
“At the end of the day, I don’t want Big Brother getting into everyone’s apps,” he said. “It’s regarding the vulnerability of our country.”
Against the backdrop of growing U.S. competition with China, DeSantis also said he would support government aid for critical industries, citing national security specifically. Congress last year allocated $52 billion for the semiconductor industry and related research. “I’m not going to overdo it,” he said, saying the government didn’t want to play the role of venture capitalist on future technologies.
But DeSantis said: “I do think that, on a matter of national survival, we can seriously consider how to incentivize these industries to stay in the United States.”
DeSantis is trying to regain his footing in the primary following repeated setbacks in the Republican presidential primaries undercut him as the top challenger to former President Donald Trump. DeSantis has ramped up a flurry of events in states that voted early and has instead issued policy proposals.
The economic plan advocates:
–Repeal China’s permanent normal trade relationship status.
— Ban the import of Chinese goods made using stolen intellectual property.
— Appoint a new Fed chair.
–Restrict pension fund managers from considering factors such as climate change when making investment decisions.
— Hold colleges accountable for student loans and allow for the discharge of those loans through bankruptcy.
The permanent normal trade relationship status between the U.S. and China stems from a U.S.-China pact in 1999 when China was preparing to join the World Trade Organization, which offered the most favorable terms of trade and tariff rates. The Trump administration tried to gain leverage by imposing huge tariffs on Chinese-made goods, but the U.S.-China trade deal Trump brokered did little to stimulate U.S. manufacturing in its first few years.
DeSantis will also seek to ban U.S. companies from sharing key technologies with China (something the Biden administration has already done), and will seek to encourage the repatriation of U.S. capital from China through tax cuts and other measures to ensure supply chain security. The outline of his plan did not mention exactly how he would do that, nor did it mention details of his many other proposals.
“The Chinese Communist Party is eating the country’s lunch every day,” DeSantis said in front of a crowd at a distribution warehouse, as he sought to align a free-market economy with one that “changes the rules to help existing companies.” comparing.
DeSantis sounded populist. He also slammed diversity and inclusion plans and called for a focus on vocational and apprenticeship education.
DeSantis has increasingly criticized the Fed and its chairman, Jerome Powell, accusing it of fueling inflation by printing trillions of dollars and saying the central bank accepted the Biden administration’s argument that price pressures are temporary . The rate hikes have hurt ordinary Americans, he said.
Under DeSantis’ proposal, he would name a Fed chair focused on maintaining dollar stability. “The Fed must focus on stabilizing prices; the Fed is not a social engineer and cannot be allowed to become an unaccountable central planner of the economy,” the plan said.
Powell, who was nominated by Trump to serve as Fed chair, won a second term under President Joe Biden.
DeSantis’ plan would also take aim at the idea of a central bank digital currency, saying he would block proposals that “bring us closer to a social credit system.” The Fed has explored the concept but said it needs Congress to get involved.
DeSantis will also continue to attack so-called “wake-up” policies, saying he will increase oversight and scrutiny of pension fund managers who consider factors such as climate change in making investment decisions. In March, Biden vetoed a Republican-led measure to overturn a provision on environmental, social and governance (ESG) guidelines, his first veto as president.
DeSantis’ plan, known as the Declaration of Economic Independence, also follows longstanding conservative economic policies of deregulation and spending cuts. He said he would push for work requirements for entitlement programs and enforce immigration laws to protect American workers.
The proposal also calls for working with the private sector to develop job training programs. DeSantis said he would also hold colleges accountable for student loans and seek to allow those loans to be discharged through bankruptcy. His campaign did not elaborate on how this would affect the existing federal student loan system.
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