Trump Announces $15 Billion Steel Plant Investment Ahead of Election

Large-Scale Steel Plant Planned for Iowa

Trump Emphasizes "Tariff Policy Revitalized Industry"

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a plan to invest $15 billion (KRW 20.4 trillion) to build a large-scale steel plant in Iowa. This move is widely interpreted as an effort to highlight achievements in manufacturing investment ahead of the upcoming midterm elections in November.

According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 28th (local time), President Trump revealed this plan at the White House alongside executives from Mesabi Metallics, an iron ore mining and processing company.

On the 28th (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump responded to reporters' questions after announcing a plan to build a $15 billion steel plant in Iowa at the White House in Washington D.C. Washington, USA = Reuters Yonhap News.

Mesabi Metallics is a subsidiary of India’s Essar Group and is headquartered in Minnesota. The company recently began operating a new mine in Minnesota for the first time in 50 years, and WSJ explained that iron ore extracted from Minnesota will be refined at the new steel plant to produce steel. In the first phase, the plant aims to produce 7.5 million tons annually, with plans to expand capacity to 10 million tons per year through future facility upgrades.

According to local media reports citing a White House official, approximately 350 jobs are expected to be created at the Minnesota mine, and at least 1,750 full-time positions at the Iowa steel plant. It is anticipated that the construction process alone will generate a maximum of 5,000 to 6,000 jobs.

This announcement comes amid growing voter dissatisfaction with economic issues such as inflation ahead of the midterm elections. Since the beginning of his term, President Trump has pursued protectionist policies by imposing tariffs on imported steel, and last year, he raised the tariff rate to 50 percent. Through the steel plant construction plan, the administration appears intent on underscoring how the tariff policy has stimulated manufacturing investment in the United States.

On this day as well, President Trump highlighted the successes of his tariff policy. He stated, "Immediately after taking office, I imposed a strong 50 percent tariff on all foreign steel, and now our steel industry is regaining its vitality. Everyone is building factories here because they don’t want to pay the tariff."

He also claimed that the tariff policy has generated hundreds of billions of dollars in profit, and reiterated his pledge to distribute the so-called "Trump dividend" by saying, "This is one of the reasons why, if the Republican Party wins control of the House and Senate, we will be able to give every adult $5,000 (KRW 6.7 million)."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.