Trump to announce $15 billion plan to build steel plant in Iowa — CNBC
US President Donald Trump is expected to announce a plan by Mesabi Metallics to invest about $15 billion in building a steel plant in Iowa. According to CNBC, the facility could become the largest plant of its kind in US history.
Production launch expected in 2030
As an unnamed White House official told CNBC, the plant is planned to begin operations in 2030. At the initial stage, the facility is expected to produce about 7.5 million tons of steel per year and support up to 6,000 construction jobs.
The project's capacity is planned to be increased to 10 million tons per year in the future. According to the White House official, the facility is expected to provide at least 1,750 permanent jobs.
The announcement is scheduled to take place in the Oval Office of the White House. According to the official, Mesabi Metallics CEO Joe Broking, company chairman Rewant Ruia, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Export-Import Bank Chairman John Jovanovic are expected to take part in the event.
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Ore planned to be supplied from Minnesota
Mesabi Metallics, based in Nashwauk, Minnesota, said the project will ensure the production of steel mined, smelted, and cast in Minnesota and Iowa. The plant is planned to be supplied with iron ore from the company's mine in Minnesota's Iron Range region.
The mining project's cost exceeds $2.5 billion, and its development lasted about two decades. According to CNBC, the project was accompanied by disputes and delays, while Essar Steel Minnesota filed for bankruptcy in 2016. Mesabi is part of the Indian conglomerate Essar Group.
Steel tariffs
At the start of his second term, Trump imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and later raised them to 50%. Critics believe these tariffs significantly affected the rise in steel prices in the United States. At the same time, industry associations said in a letter to the president that the tariffs contributed to $47 billion in announced and already implemented investments.
