With pro-business plan, Trump vows to punish companies for leaving the U.S.

President-elect Donald Trump spoke tellingly Thursday about his plans to incentivize businesses to stay within U.S. borders.

"Companies are not going to leave the U.S. anymore without consequences," Trump said while speaking during a press conference at the Indiana-based heating and air-conditioning equipment company Carrier.

In February, Carrier announced plans to lay off workers and move other jobs to Mexico, but the company announced a deal Thursday afternoon with Trump to keep those jobs at its Indianapolis location. That deal includes a state incentive package of about $7 million over multiple years, Bloomberg Business reported.

Trump also said that he plans to lower the U.S. tax rate on businesses from 35 percent to 15 percent, CNN reported.

Being more friendly to businesses is part of incoming administration's strategy to keep them on U.S. soil, Trump said.

Trump: "I just want to let companies know that we're going to do great things for business... unnecessary regulations are going to be gone" pic.twitter.com/NT4HqRAvSm

— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 1, 2016

The consequences for companies leaving the U.S. will look like paying higher tariffs on imports, Trump said.

But critics of Trump's plan immediately expressed concern that the Carrier deal only shows big businesses that they can get financial incentives out of Trump if they threaten to leave the U.S.