Washington — President Trump on Monday announced that the company Mesabi Metallics will build a $15 billion steel plant in Iowa over the coming years, in what would be the largest of its kind in U.S. history.
“There’s a company known as Mesabi,” the president said in the Oval Office. “And they’re going to make a big investment in a place called Iowa. I love Iowa. I won Iowa every time. Today, we’re thrilled to announce that Mesabi Metallics will be building the largest steel plant in American history in the great state of Iowa.”
The president and the Minnesota-based Mesabi Metallics unveiled the company’s plans for what the White House is calling a mega steel plant, alongside Mesabi executives and Iowa officials. The announcement comes as several Iowa Republicans face competitive elections in the November midterms, including the party’s candidates for Senate and governor.
Although Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Monday the steel plant won’t receive direct federal support, he acknowledged that the government-run Export-Import Bank financed Mesabi’s iron ore plant in Minnesota, which will provide the raw materials essential to making steel.
Once it’s up and running in 2030, the plant is expected to produce 7.5 million or more tons of steel per year. A White House official said the plant is expected to create 1,750 permanent jobs in Iowa.
The plans for a new plant mark the Trump administration’s latest move to boost domestic steel manufacturing in the face of overseas competition, a centerpiece of the president’s trade agenda. Last year, he doubled tariffs on imported steel to 50%, and steel levies have been part of the ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and Canada. He also approved a deal for Japan-based Nippon Steel to buy U.S. Steel, an arrangement that calls for new investments in the iconic Pittsburgh-based company.
Mesabi has not announced where in Iowa the steel plant will be, but Energy Secretary Chris Wright mentioned that it would be in the southeast part of the state. A White House official said this will be the first mega steel plant built in the U.S. since the 1960s. The Trump administration expects the steel could support U.S. defense projects in the future. The Wall Street Journal was first to report the president’s anticipated announcement of the new steel plant.
The Export-Import Bank’s board approved a $770 million direct loan to Mesabi Metallics for its iron ore endeavors on Sept. 24, a spokesperson for EXIM told CBS News. The board was initially considering up to $10 billion in support, according to a March news release.
Mesabi Metallics is owned by India-based Essar Group, but its operations haven’t always been known as Mesabi Metallics.
In 2008, the Essar Group’s Essar Steel Minnesota LLC began work on a massive iron mine and processing facility in Minnesota. But after years of delays, missed deadlines and financial challenges, Essar Steel Minnesota LLC filed for bankruptcy in 2016. Frustrated with the delays, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources took steps in 2019 to potentially bar Essar Global from working with the state, although the company sued over that move, and the state ultimately did not complete the debarment process.
“This is a step in the right direction after northern Minnesotans have waited patiently — too patiently, in fact — for economic gains that have been dangled in front of their eyes for many years,” Democratic state Reps. Julie Sandstede and Rob Ecklund said in a statement at the time.
What was known as Essar Steel Minnesota LLC was eventually reborn from the ashes of bankruptcy and was bought by Chippewa Capital Partners. But Essar Group eventually regained control starting in 2019.
CBS News has reached out to Mesabi Metallics and the Essar Group for comment.
State aid could potentially be on the way for Mesabi Metallics, too.
The Des Moines Register reported state lawmakers are being alerted they may need to return to the statehouse to approve tax breaks for Mesabi. CBS News has reached out to top members of the Iowa statehouse for comment.
“I’m so excited about this project,” Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst said, thanking Mr. Trump and Essar.
It’s not clear why the steel plant is in Iowa, instead of Minnesota, closer to the iron ore mine.
Iowa Republicans are facing competitive races for the U.S. House, Senate and governor’s mansion. Republicans, who currently hold the governor’s mansion and both Senate seats, are trying to fend off Democrats from changing that.
In the governor’s race, Democratic Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand is facing off against Republican businessman Zach Lahn in what’s expected to be a close race. In the open U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Joni Ernst’s departure, Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson faces Democratic state lawmaker Josh Turek.
In the House, there are closely watched races in two Iowa congressional districts, between Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Democratic former state Rep. Christina Bohannan, and between Republican Rep. Zach Nunn and Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott.
Mr. Trump gave Hinson a shoutout in the Oval Office Monday, saying she will be “hopefully elected to the Senate, and she’s outstanding.” The president said he’ll visit Iowa for a “great rally” there before the midterms.
A reporter asked the president why Republicans are having to work so hard to win seats in Iowa, a state he won by 13 points. The president said he thinks the polls, which show close statewide races in the Hawkeye State, are inaccurate.
“I don’t know, I love Iowa,” he said. “I’ve always been very strong with Iowa.”
