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NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Casting himself as America's CEO,
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Tuesday outlined a
sweeping economic plan that would reduce regulations and taxes on
companies, sanction China over its currency practices and weaken
the clout of labor unions.


      Trying to hold off surging rival Rick Perry, Romney traveled to
economically suffering Nevada and stood inside a giant truck
warehouse to deliver his multi-point plan designed to position him
as the GOP contender with the most comprehensive approach to fixing
the economy.


      "This is a business plan for America," Romney told supporters
as he promoted his plan as one designed to modernize an economy he
says is still oriented toward earlier decades - and held up General
Electric CEO Jack Welch and former Apple CEO Steve Jobs as "real
deal" leaders in the U.S. economy.


      It's a version of the economic pitch Romney has been making
throughout the campaign so far - but it's now been sharpened to
highlight how his private-sector record contrasts with Perry, the
Texas governor, who has held elected office for more than two
decades. In his speech Tuesday, Romney barely mentioned his own
four years as governor of Massachusetts.


      Perry's campaign sharply criticized Romney immediately after the
address. "As governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney failed to
create a pro-jobs environment," Perry spokesman Mark Miner said in
a statement. When Romney was governor, Massachusetts ranked 47th
out of 50 in job creation.


      Romney's plan calls for reducing or eliminating several taxes,
extracting more U.S. oil, coal and natural gas, expanding trade
pacts and slashing federal spending. His campaign distributed the
160-page booklet, and Romney explained it in an at-times rambling
speech delivered without prepared text or a teleprompter.


      Democrats called Romney's plan wrong-headed and doomed to fail.
Taxes already are near historic lows, they noted, and many
employers say weak consumer demand is more troubling than taxes or
regulation.


      Romney portrayed his plan as a bold vision to lower the nation's
unemployment rate, now at 9.1 percent.


      "America should be a job machine: jobs being created all the
time, people looking for employees to join their enterprises," he
said.


      Many of his proposals are not new, although they could cause
fierce debates in Congress if pursued. He would seek a balanced
budget amendment to the Constitution, cut non-security
discretionary spending by 5 percent, eliminate the estate tax and
undo the 2010 health care overhaul championed by President Barack
Obama.
      The jobs plan is Romney's first major policy statement since he
announced his candidacy in June. It came two days ahead of Obama's
scheduled speech on jobs before a joint session of Congress.


      Romney's campaign predicted that his overall plan would lead to
4 percent annual growth in the U.S. economy, and create 11.5
million new jobs over four years. The campaign did not provide
details of how it reached those projections, which are certain to
be challenged by Democrats, independent groups and perhaps his GOP
rivals.


      Winning congressional approval for such proposals could prove
difficult even if Republicans keep their House majority in the 2012
elections and take over the Senate. Senate Democrats would likely
retain filibuster powers.


      First, of course, Romney must win the Republican nomination,
which eluded him in 2008. Many party insiders saw him as this
year's early front-runner until Perry jumped in and shot to the top
of polls.


      Texas has gained many thousands of jobs during Perry's decade as
governor, pressuring Romney and the other contenders to convince
GOP voters they can do a better job of attacking unemployment.


      Romney called for lowering the corporate income tax to 25
percent, from the current 35 percent. That rate is high compared to
other advanced economies, but a host of tax breaks allow many U.S.
companies to pay little or no corporate tax. Romney said a lower
rate would encourage companies to keep more operations within the
United States.


      He would eliminate taxes on interest, dividends and capital
gains for people making less than $200,000 a year. A campaign
spokeswoman declined to offer estimates of the proposal's budget
impact "because they are still being refined and finalized."


      Most capital gains taxes are paid by the richest Americans, and
Democrats said Romney's plan would have scant effect.


      Romney said he would keep the Bush-era income tax cuts
unchanged. Obama wants the cuts, which were set to expire this
year, to disappear for the wealthiest taxpayers.


      Romney did not go as far as GOP presidential candidate Jon
Huntsman, who has called for lower tax rates for all Americans and
the elimination of most tax breaks and loopholes.


      Romney said he would consider wider changes to the tax code over
time. He also said a number of foreign and domestic proposals would
lead to job growth, the issue dominating the presidential election.


      Saying Obama has greatly expanded federal regulations, he
proposed steps to ensure that new regulations won't cost employers
more money. If a new set of federal rules raises costs for
businesses, his plan would require other regulations to be
eliminated as an offset.


      He said he would sanction China for deliberately keeping its
currency low, which makes Chinese-made products easier to sell
abroad. The Obama administration has complained about China's
currency policy but has not made it a priority in the two nations'
relations.


      Romney also accused China of stealing intellectual property, a
common complaint among U.S. creators of technology, entertainment
media and other products. He proposed a "Reagan Economic Zone,"
which would be a coalition of nations that respect intellectual
property rights and seek expanded trade with each other. And he
vowed to push stalled trade pacts with Colombia, Panama and South
Korea.


Focusing on labor unions, which overwhelmingly back Democrats in elections, Romney said he would seek rules making it easier to defeat unionization drives and to prevent mandatory withholding of union dues from workers.


--- Associated Press writer Charles Babington in Washington contributed to this report.

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