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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Business
Michael Sainato

Skepticism mires Trump’s Iowa steel plant project: ‘Promises are not the same as jobs’

Man speaks while seated at the resolute desk as a line of men stands behind him
Rewant Ruia, chairman of Mesabi Metallics, Ravi Ruia, board member of Mesabi Metallics and director of Essar Capital, and US secretary of energy, Chris Wright, listen as Donald Trump delivers remarks at the White House on 28 September 2026. Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Donald Trump has long sought to portray himself as a man of steel, from the White House photoshopping Trump to look like Superman, to enacting tariffs on steel and approving the sale of US Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel with a ”golden” share given to the US government.

Most recently, the Trump administration announced plans to construct the largest steel plant in the US, a $15bn plant in Lee county, Iowa, to be built by India-based Mesabi Metallics.

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