Trump in Battleground State: "Up to 300% Tariffs If They Don't Build Plants in US"

▲ U.S. President Donald Trump campaigns in the battleground state of Ohio on October 3 (local time).

U.S. President Donald Trump visited Ohio on October 3 (local time), one of the battleground states for the November midterm elections, stating that his tariff policies are successfully driving massive foreign investment into the United States.

Speaking at a campaign rally at a high school in Ohio, President Trump said, "We give them a little window, about a year and a half, to build a plant here." He added, "If they don't do that, we charge them 150, 200, 250, 300% tariffs."

"Ultimately, they are all building [plants] here," he said, adding, "The whole thing is very simple, and we have executed this at a level nobody has ever seen before."

He also claimed that the United States is securing trillions of dollars through these measures.

Justifying his tariff policy, President Trump argued that countries around the world, including China, Japan, South Korea, and Canada, have long used tariffs against the United States, making the U.S. "a laughingstock."

A day earlier, President Trump hinted at potential tariff hikes, suggesting that if South Korea does not invest in the Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, "we can just charge them more."

This marks the first time President Trump has visited a fiercely contested battleground state where Republican and Democratic candidates are running neck-and-neck in polls since launching his nationwide campaign tour on October 1.

In contrast, Oklahoma and Alabama, which he visited previously, are Republican strongholds where GOP candidates are leading Democratic candidates in Senate election polls.

Meanwhile, Ohio is regarded as a critical battleground for Republicans to maintain their Senate majority, as incumbent Republican Senator Jon Husted and Democratic candidate Sherrod Brown are locked in a tight race within the margin of error.

During the rally, President Trump noted that he won Ohio in all three presidential elections (2016, 2020, and 2024) and recorded the highest vote count in the state's history, urging voters to "defeat the radical left Democrats once again" in the upcoming midterms.

"If I had lost the last election, if Kamala [Democratic candidate Kamala Harris] had won, I believe our country would have been destroyed," President Trump said. "If the Republicans win, each of you will have an extra $5,000 in your pockets, and our country will enjoy unprecedented economic success."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)

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