[Ferro-Alloys.com] Trump announces plan for $15 billion steel plant, would be largest in U.S. history

President Donald Trump on Monday announced a steel-making company’s plan to invest about $15 billion to build what would be the largest plant of its kind in U.S. history.

The Oval Office announcement with Mesabi Metallics came just weeks before the November midterm election, which is poised to be shaped by Americans’ increasingly sour views of Trump’s handling of the economy.

The steel plant is planned to be built in Iowa and aims to begin production in 2030, a White House official told CNBC on condition of anonymity ahead of the Oval Office event.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the announcement earlier Monday morning.

Mesabi Metallics, based in Nashwauk, Minnesota, told CNBC the project will deliver “100% American steel: mined, melted and poured in Minnesota and Iowa.”

The steel plant will use iron ore from Mesabi’s mine on Minnesota’s Iron Range, a more than $2.5 billion project that is just beginning production after roughly two decades in development. That project was beset by controversies and setbacks, including Essar Steel Minnesota filing for bankruptcy in 2016. Mesabi is part of the Essar Group, an Indian conglomerate.

The first phase of the Iowa steel plant is estimated to produce some 7.5 million tons per year, supporting up to 6,000 construction jobs, according to the White House. It is slated to eventually ramp up to 10 million tons annually and support at least 1,750 permanent jobs, the official told CNBC. The Minnesota mine project has reportedly created 200 full-time jobs out of an anticipated 350 total, according to Minnesota Public Radio.

Trump was joined in the Oval Office by Mesabi Metallics’ CEO Joe Broking and Chairman Rewant Ruia, as well as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Export-Import Bank Chairman John Jovanovic and a number of Iowa elected officials.

Trump slapped 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports near the start of his second term, and then doubled them to 50%. The president, who strongly dislikes trade deficits and has criticized free-trade deals, has doled out a variety of heavy import duties as he seeks to boost domestic manufacturing.

Critics say the tariffs have played a major role in raising U.S. steel prices, which have recently hit multi-year highs.

But numerous steel trade groups on Friday sent a letter to Trump, crediting his steel tariffs with driving $47 billion in “announced and underway investment.” They urged him not to weaken those tariffs, arguing that doing so would “put that progress at risk.”

Lutnick said in the Oval Office that the plan is a “done deal.” But complex, long-term construction projects can change drastically, or face insurmountable roadblocks, over their development cycles.

Construction on the Minnesota iron mine, for instance, was supposed to finish by 2016, prior to the company behind the project filing for bankruptcy, Minnesota Public Radio reported.

As president, Trump has previously touted projects that did not live up to their initial hype.

In his first term, Trump attended Taiwan electronics manufacturer Foxconn’s groundbreaking for a planned $10 billion factory in Wisconsin, and praised the project as “the eighth wonder of the world.” But in 2021, Foxconn reduced its planned investment to $672 million and cut the number of new jobs down to 1,454 from 13,000.

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told CNBC in a statement on Monday’s factory announcement, “President Trump is delivering on his promise to rebuild American industry, reshore manufacturing, and create new jobs.”

“Today’s announcement underscores the President’s historic efforts to revitalize the U.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 trillions of dollars in new investment.”

Trump announces a new $15B Iowa steel plant and claims it will be the nation’s biggest

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday announced a new $15 billion steel plant being built in Iowa, highlighting an economic victory in a key battleground state where Republicans face competitive midterm races.

Trump announced the new plant at an Oval Office event alongside steel executives and Iowa Republicans, including two running for office. The event highlighted Iowa’s elevated status for Republicans and for Trump, who on Monday pledged to campaign there in coming weeks.

“We’re going to do a great rally. We’ll all be there together,” Trump said alongside Rep. Ashley Hinson, who is running for the U.S. Senate, and Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who is up for re-election. Also joining him were Gov. Kim Reynolds and Sen. Joni Ernst, who are not seeking new terms in office.

The new steel plant is being built by Mesabi Metallics, a Minnesota company owned by India’s Essar Group, an industrial conglomerate. Trump said the project will become the largest steel plant in the United States. It is expected to produce 10 million tons of steel a year after it’s fully built out.

The plant was projected to begin production in 2030, supplied by a new $2.5 billion iron ore mine that Mesabi developed along Minnesota’s Mesabi iron range. The resulting steel will be produced from start to finish in the United States, the White House said.

Trump said the American steel industry is “roaring back to life,” crediting it to the 50% tariffs on steel imports that he imposed last year.

“Everyone is building their plants here because they don’t want to pay tariffs,” Trump said. “It’s really not that complicated.”

Trump in June also approved the takeover of iconic American steelmaker U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel, a move that had been blocked by Joe Biden, his Democratic predecessor, and initially opposed by Trump as a 2024 Republican presidential candidate. After returning to office, Trump later backed a deal that gave the federal government a say in some company decisions.

The Oval Office announcement at times took on the tone of a campaign event. Introducing Hinson, Trump described her as a “young lady who is going to be hopefully elected to the Senate.”

“She’s outstanding, one of the top anywhere in the country,” Trump continued. “They talk about her all the time.”

Trump told Ernst she had done a wonderful job in the Senate and said he would miss her: “I can’t believe you’re leaving,” he said.

Trump and Vice President JD Vance both have touched down in Iowa this year to shore up Republican enthusiasm and energize voters before the Nov. 3 elections.

Jeff Kaufmann, chairman of Iowa’s Republican Party, said the announcement was made possible by the state’s Republican leadership, including from Reynolds.

“Investments of this magnitude do not come to Iowa by accident,” he said. “They come to states with low taxes, responsible budgets, fewer burdensome regulations, and leaders who understand that the role of the government is to help job creators succeed, not stand in their way.”

Mesabi Metallics is based in Nashwauk, Minnesota. The Essar Group is an industrial conglomerate formed in India in 1969, with ventures in industries from energy and mining to technology and retail, according to its website.

Joe Broking, CEO at Mesabi Metallics, called the announcement a “major moment for U.S. made steel,” saying the factory would be supplying a critical product that U.S. national defense, cars and trucks, shipbuilding, household appliances, energy and infrastructure depend on.

• [Editor:tianyawei]