Trump announces $15B steel mill in pivotal Iowa as victory for tariff policy
by Jeff Mordock · The Washington TimesPresident Trump on Monday celebrated the biggest trophy yet for his tariff agenda: a Minnesota company’s plans to build a $15 billion steel mill in Iowa, where the president is promising midterm voters the first new steel plant built in the U.S. in 57 years.
Mesabi Metallics is building the plant, which is scheduled to start production by 2030. The facility is expected to produce 10 million tons of steel a year and create as many as 1,750 permanent jobs in the state, along with 5,000 to 6,000 construction jobs.
“This announcement is only possible because of the pro-American policies of the Trump administration,” the president said, also criticizing former President Joseph R. Biden for losing manufacturing jobs.
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Mr. Trump clearly hopes the announcement will help his party’s midterm election prospects in Iowa, with control of Congress at stake. Republican congressional candidates are locked in tight races amid dissatisfaction over high fuel costs, particularly diesel related to the Iran war. Farmers and ranchers have also faced setbacks because of the president’s trade wars since early 2025.
The plant would be the largest steel mill ever built in the U.S., starting with an annual production of 7.5 million tons and later expanding to about 10 million tons a year. Mesabi plans to build two plants on the site to process ore into direct-reduced iron, which will be combined with scrap steel in electric arc furnaces.
It would be the first new steel mill built in the U.S. since 1969, when Bethlehem Steel brought its first blast furnaces online at Burns Harbor in Porter County, Indiana. That plant, which is now owned by Cleveland-Cliffs, produces about 5 million tons of steel per year.
“The plant will produce some of the highest quality, most affordable steel anywhere in the world. They’re going to be making it here and using it here and also shipping it outside,” Mr. Trump said in remarks from the Oval Office surrounded by Iowa officials and Mesabi executives.
The Mesabi Metallics plant would be capable of meeting defense sector requirements for high-grade steel, including the type used in Navy ships.
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The project will be fully integrated with Mesabi’s iron ore mine in Minnesota, which was the state’s first iron ore mine in more than 50 years. Mesabi spent about $2.5 billion on the Minnesota plant, which created roughly 350 jobs, according to the White House.
Preliminary production at the mine began this month, but Mesabi controls enough iron ore reserves to sustain mining for 23 years.
“With the new steel complex in Iowa, we will complete the fully integrated American supply chain from mine to mill. American ore carried on American railroads to American steel plants powered by American energy, built and operated by an incredibly hardworking and talented American workforce,” said Mesabi Chairman Rewant Ruia.
Mr. Trump highlighted the announcement as a critical economic win ahead of contentious midterm elections. He said the planned mill is evidence that his tariffs are restoring U.S. manufacturing jobs as companies look to build domestically to avoid the levies.
The November midterm elections loomed large over Monday’s announcement. Republicans in Iowa are facing an uphill battle against Democrats in a state that Mr. Trump won in all three of his presidential campaigns.
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Voters in the Hawkeye State say they are frustrated with soaring diesel prices caused by the war in Iran.
They are also angry about Mr. Trump’s plan to import nearly 660 million pounds of foreign beef at below-market prices, which they say undercuts domestic cattle ranchers. Cattle ranching is big business in Iowa, generating about $6.19 billion in economic activity and supporting more than 32,000 jobs.
In the race for the seat held by retiring Sen. Joni Ernst, Iowa Republican, Democratic candidate Josh Turek leads Republican Ashley Hinson 50% to 42%, according to a Marist poll.
The polls are similar in Iowa’s gubernatorial race, where Democrat Rob Sand leads Republican Zach Lahn by 12 points (54% to 42%) in the Marist poll. Other polls show a considerably tighter race.
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A plurality of Iowa voters (43%) say their vote is mostly a vote against Mr. Trump rather than a vote for him (22%), while 35% say he is not a factor in their decision.
When asked about the Iowa polls, Mr. Trump dismissed them as “fake,” adding that Ms. Hinson will be “highly respected” as a senator. He said she “will be a tremendous success as a senator, she’s going to bring a lot of goodies back to Iowa.”
“I think the polls are inaccurate because I won [Iowa] by so much, and it doesn’t make sense that they wouldn’t be up there with me,” he said of Iowa voters.
A location for the plant has yet to be announced, but Mesabi said the plant will be in eastern Iowa near the Mississippi River, which it plans to use to transport iron ore. A report in the Des Moines Register said the company had been buying land in the area.
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Mr. Trump imposed steel tariffs during his first term and raised them to 50% last year, citing the need for domestic steel for national security. The tariffs enabled U.S. steelmakers to raise their prices without the threat of lower-priced imported steel.
“I imposed powerful 50% tariffs on all foreign steel, and now our steel industry is roaring back to life,” Mr. Trump said. “Everyone’s building their plant here because they don’t want to pay tariffs. It’s really not that complicated.”
U.S. steel prices are among the highest in the world, but foreign competition has decreased since Mr. Trump imposed his steel tariffs.
Through August, total U.S. steel imports dropped 18.4%, and finished steel imports fell 22.4% compared with the same period in 2025, according to data from the American Iron and Steel Institute.
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At the same time, American mills are shipping more steel. Domestic producers shipped nearly 55.75 million tons during the first eight months of 2026, with mills operating at 79% of their production capacity, up from 77% in August 2025.
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Jeff Mordock
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