Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump offered dueling visions of the economy Wednesday, stepping up their messages to voters in battleground states still anxious about the economy.

Ms. Harris spoke at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh, where she reassured pro-business Republicans and small-business owners that she was in their corner. She pledged to cut red tape and use government power to spur the private sector.

Mr. Trump traveled to Mint Hill, North Carolina, and reminded voters that Ms. Harris had four years as vice president to address America’s economic and immigration woes.

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Ms. Harris did not reveal any details about her economic policies but framed herself as pro-business and anti-government bureaucracy, countering Mr. Trump’s assertion that she is a socialist who will drown businesses in government red tape.

“I am a capitalist,” she said, adding that her policies will be rooted in pragmatism, not ideology.

She vowed to make the U.S. the world leader in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing, and she promised to promote entrepreneurship and reduce red tape.

Ms. Harris said it “takes too long and costs too much” to build in America, whether it’s constructing a new factory or bridge.

“It’s a national problem, and I will tell you this: China is not moving slowly. They are not, and we can’t afford to either,” she said. “As president, if things are not moving quickly, I will demand to know, and I will act.”

In North Carolina, Mr. Trump questioned why Ms. Harris didn’t deliver on these promises during her time in the White House.

“Why didn’t she do it? She has been there almost four years,” he said. “Kamala goes to work every day in the White House. Families are suffering now. So, if she has a plan, she should stop grandstanding and just do it. Just do it. You have a few months left — do it.”

Both candidates cast themselves as tax cutters and accused the other of supporting massive tax increases on the middle class.

Mr. Trump described Ms. Harris as a “tax queen” and “one-woman economic wrecking ball.” He said that “the economy is doing really, really badly” under the Biden-Harris administration.

Ms. Harris said Mr. Trump looks out only for billionaires and corporations, not the working class.

“You see, for Donald Trump, our economy works best if it works for those who own the big skyscrapers,” she said. “Not those who actually build them, not those who wire them, not those who mop the floor.”

Mr. Trump has pledged to expand the tariffs he enacted as president. He said they will save the manufacturing industry in states such as North Carolina, which is renowned for its furniture manufacturing.

He has said he would work with Congress to lower the corporate tax rate from 21% to 15%, but only for companies that relocate to the U.S. and hire American workers. He said the lower tax rate and the high tariffs would motivate businesses to comply.

Ms. Harris is pitching a combination of government-funded subsidies to first-time homebuyers, small-business tax breaks, expanding the child tax credit and a federal ban on grocery price gouging.

The economy ranks as the most important issue for voters. A Pew Research poll released last week found that 81% of registered voters said the economy and inflation are “very important” in how they cast their vote in the election.

Although Mr. Trump, a former real estate developer and businessman, has long held an edge with voters on the economy, some recent news has helped Ms. Harris close the gap.

A Fox News poll this month found that 51% of registered voters favor Mr. Trump on the economy, compared with 46% who favor Ms. Harris. When President Biden was the Democratic candidate, Mr. Trump held a 15-percentage-point advantage on the economy. A handful of other polls showed similar gains by Ms. Harris.

Much of those gains can be attributed to Americans’ improved economic outlook. Prices are stabilizing, stocks are rising, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates last week, and unemployment remains low at 4.2%.

Still, voters’ confidence in the economy remains shaky, which Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen acknowledged in remarks this week by saying the cost of health care, housing and energy remain too high.