President Donald Trump announced plans Monday for a massive $15 billion steel plant in Iowa, a project that could become the largest facility of its kind in U.S. history and create thousands of construction and permanent jobs.
The planned facility will be built by Mesabi Metallics, a Minnesota-based company owned by India's Essar Group.
"President Trump is delivering on his promise to rebuild American industry, reshore manufacturing, and create new jobs," White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told CNBC.
"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."
If completed as planned, the project would represent one of the most significant expansions of U.S. steelmaking capacity in decades. The White House says the first phase is expected to produce approximately 7.5 million tons of steel annually before eventually ramping up to 10 million tons a year. Production is targeted to begin in 2030.
The project is expected to support between 5,000 and 6,000 construction jobs and create at least 1,750 permanent jobs in Iowa once fully operational. Mesabi Metallics says the operation will create a domestic supply chain stretching from Minnesota's Iron Range to Iowa, producing steel from iron ore mined in the United States.
The Iowa facility will rely on ore from Mesabi's more than $2.5 billion mining project in Nashwauk, Minnesota, which recently began production following roughly two decades of development. The mine is particularly significant because it is the first new iron ore mine to open in Minnesota in about 50 years.
The project has had a complicated history. Its previous developer, Essar Steel Minnesota, filed for bankruptcy in 2016 after years of delays. Mesabi Metallics subsequently revived the development, which is now expected to supply the raw material for the proposed Iowa steelmaking operation.
The announcement also gives Trump a major domestic manufacturing project to highlight just weeks before the November midterm elections, as economic issues remain central to congressional campaigns.
The steel investment comes as the Trump administration continues to use tariffs as a central element of its manufacturing and trade policies. Trump initially imposed additional tariffs on steel and aluminum imports during his first administration and has expanded the measures since returning to office.
In April, the White House announced a strengthened metals tariff system that applies a 50% duty to steel, aluminum, and copper products that are entirely or almost entirely made from those metals, with different rates for certain derivative products.
Mesabi Metallics Chairman Rewant Ruia and CEO Joe Broking are expected to join Trump for Monday's announcement, along with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Export-Import Bank Chairman John Jovanovic.
