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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."
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