WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump announced an investment plan to build a $15 billion (about 20.4 trillion won) steel mill in Iowa.
Speaking at the White House on the 28th, Trump said he was pleased to announce that Mesabi Metallics would build the largest steel mill in U.S. history in Iowa. Mesabi Metallics is an iron ore mining and processing company headquartered in Minnesota and an affiliate of the Indian conglomerate Essar Group. The company recently opened an iron mine in Minnesota.
"This steel will be mined, smelted and made in America," Trump said, explaining that once completed, the mill would produce 10 million tons of steel a year using iron ore mined in Minnesota. He also stressed that he had imposed a 50% tariff on all foreign steel immediately after taking office and that the U.S. steel industry was now regaining momentum. "Everybody is building plants here because they don't want to pay the tariffs," he said.
A White House official told Reuters that the administration expects 5,000 to 6,000 jobs from the first phase of the project alone, including about 350 jobs at the Minnesota mine and at least 1,750 full-time positions at the Iowa steel mill.
Trump has been under pressure ahead of November's midterm elections as voter frustration grows over issues including a sharp rise in gasoline prices. Iowa is a state Trump carried by 13 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election, but recent polls show a tight race. One Senate seat currently held by Republicans and three House districts are up for election, and in the Senate race the Republican and Democratic candidates are competing within the margin of error. In a Marist poll released on the 22nd, Democratic candidate Josh Turek led Republican Ashley Hinson by 8 percentage points, at 50%.
Responding to recent Republican weakness, Trump argued that the polls were "fake," saying it made no sense that Republican candidates could not match his own margins when he had won by an overwhelming margin.
Despite such large investment announcements, some point out that it will take time before the effects are felt. Politico, a U.S. online news outlet, noted that the Iowa steel mill is not expected to begin producing steel until 2030, and that plans for several auto plants in Michigan would start production in 2027 at the earliest.
