Trump: Companies will be punished for leaving U.S.

Trump claims victory at Carrier, but critics aren't so sure
Trump claims victory at Carrier, but critics aren't so sure

Donald Trump praised Carrier for keeping over 1,000 jobs in the U.S. -- and threatened other companies that might consider leaving the country.

"Companies​ ​are​ ​not​ ​going​ ​to​ ​leave​ ​the​ ​U.S.​ ​anymore​ ​without​ ​consequences," Trump said Thursday at the Indiana plant where the company makes furnaces.

Trump said that those consequences would include paying higher tariffs on imports.

Carrier announced in February that it would lay off workers and move those jobs to Mexico.

However on Tuesday, the company announced that it had reached a deal with Trump to keep the jobs at its Indianapolis plant, rather than move them to Mexico.

Related: How Donald Trump got Carrier to stay

Carrier said state "incentives" from Indiana were an "important consideration" in its decision to stay put.

Trump said in the press conference Thursday that he planned to lower the business tax from 35% to 15%, and that treating U.S. companies better was part of his strategy for keeping jobs in the U.S.

Carrier, which is owned by United Technologies, (UTX) has long been a major player in the air conditioning business.

As part of its agreement with Trump, Carrier will get a modest $7 million in financial incentives over the next 10 years from the state of Indiana. That's just a fraction of the estimated $65 million a year it expected to save by moving those jobs to Mexico.

Related: China warns Trump: Good luck bringing jobs back to U.S.

Trump made keeping jobs in the U.S. a big part of his presidential campaign, but admitted that he'd never meant to target Carrier when he originally made his claims.

Once he was elected, Trump said he called the company's management to try to keep the jobs in the U.S. He added that United​ ​Technologies​ ​"stepped​ ​up​" and ​"did​ ​it​ ​in​ ​the​ ​right​ ​way." Trump noted that the company will likely spend more than $16 million to renovate the Indiana factory.

Trump also promised to cut the number of regulations that companies have to deal with.

"We​ ​need​ ​some​ ​regulations​ ​for things​ ​like​ ​safety​ ​and​ ​environment,​ ​but​ ​there​ ​are​ ​so​ ​many​ ​other​ ​regulations​ ​we​ ​don't​ ​need," he said. "These​ ​companies​ ​aren't​ ​going​ ​to​ ​be​ ​leaving.​ ​They're​ ​not​ ​going​ ​to​ ​be​ ​taking​ ​people's​ ​hearts​ ​out."

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