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, which began after 2 p.m. ET, 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 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 company confirmed that its chairman, Rewant Ruia, would speak alongside Trump at the White House event.
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.
In addition to Ruia, Trump was scheduled to be joined in the Oval Office by Mesabi Metallics CEO Joe Broking, as well as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Export-Import Bank Chairman John Jovanovic, the official said. Other attendees included the White House’s National Energy Dominance Council Executive Director Jarrod Agen and National Security Council senior director for Global Supply Chain David Copley.
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.”
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told CNBC in a statement, “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.”
