President Donald Trump announced plans Monday for a steel company to invest about $15 billion to build what would be the largest such plant in U.S. history.
The Oval Office announcement with Mesabi Metallics, which began after 2 p.m. ET, came just weeks before the November midterm elections, which are poised to be shaped by Americans’ increasingly bitter views of Trump’s handling of the economy.
The steel mill is expected to be built in Iowa and is expected to begin production in 2030, a White House official told CNBC on condition of anonymity before the Oval Office event.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the announcement Monday morning.
Mesabi Metallics, based in Nashwauk, Minnesota, told CNBC the project would provide “100% American steel: mined, melted and cast in Minnesota and Iowa.”
The company confirmed that its president, Rewant Ruia, would speak alongside Trump at the White House event.
The steel mill will use iron ore from the Mesabi Mine on Minnesota’s Iron Range, a more than $2.5 billion project that has just begun production after about two decades of development. This project has been plagued by controversy and setbacks, including the bankruptcy filing of Essar Steel Minnesota in 2016. Mesabi is part of the Essar Group, an Indian conglomerate.
The first phase of the Iowa steel mill is expected to produce some 7.5 million tons per year, supporting up to 6,000 construction jobs, according to the White House. It is expected to eventually reach 10 million tonnes per year and support at least 1,750 permanent jobs, the official told CNBC. The Minnesota mining project would have created 200 full-time jobs out of a planned total of 350, according to Minnesota Public Radio.
Besides Ruia, Trump was to be joined in the Oval Office by Joe Broking, CEO of Mesabi Metallics, as well as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Export-Import Bank President John Jovanovic, the official said. Other participants included Jarrod Agen, executive director of the White House National Energy Dominance Council, and David Copley, National Security Council senior director for the global supply chain.
Trump imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports at the start of his second term, then doubled them to 50%. The president, who strongly dislikes trade deficits and has criticized free trade agreements, has imposed a series of high import duties in an effort to boost domestic manufacturing.
Critics say the tariffs have played a major role in driving up U.S. steel prices, which recently reached multi-year highs.
But numerous steel trade groups sent a letter to Trump on Friday, crediting his steel tariffs with generating $47 billion in “announced and ongoing investments.” They urged him not to weaken those tariffs, arguing that doing so would “endanger this progress.”
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told CNBC in a statement: “President Trump is delivering on his promise to rebuild American industry, relocate manufacturing, and create new jobs.”
“Today’s announcement highlights the President’s historic efforts to revitalize America’s steel industry – supporting local communities, strengthening supply chains, and protecting our national security,” Rogers said. “After decades of decline, this president is restoring America’s industrial competitiveness and securing billions of dollars in new investment.”
Gn usa
