Trump announcing a new Iowa steel plant that the White House says will be the nation’s biggest
Sep 28, 2026, 10:39 AM | Updated: 2:52 pm
President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House after arriving on Marine One, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
Credit: AP Photo/Allison Robbert
(AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is announcing a new $15 billion steel plant in Iowa being built with backing from an Indian conglomerate, creating what the White House says will become the largest steel plant in U.S. history.
The White House said Trump will announce the project Monday afternoon alongside steel industry executives and commerce officials. It comes as Trump is trying to energize voters ahead of difficult midterm races including in Iowa, where governor and Senate seats have become competitive.
The new mill in eastern Iowa is being built by Mesabi Metallics, a Minnesota-based company owned by India’s Essar Group, an industrial conglomerate. The White House said the plant will begin producing steel in 2030 and create more than 2,000 jobs in the United States. When it’s fully built out, it’s expected to produce 10 million tons of steel a year, more than any other in the U.S.
“President Trump is delivering on his promise to rebuild American industry, reshore manufacturing, and create new jobs,” Taylor Rogers, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement. “Today’s announcement underscores the President’s historic efforts to revitalize the U.S. steel industry.”
The announcement was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The steel plant will be supplied by a new $2.5 billion iron ore mine that Mesabi developed in Minnesota. The resulting steel will be produced from start to finish in the United States, the White House said.
In a social media post promoting the announcement, the White House said Trump is “prioritizing hardworking Americans instead of foreign labor.”
Trump raised tariffs on steel and aluminum imports earlier this year to 50%, a move that he said protects U.S. industries but also threatened to drive up consumer prices for items from refrigerators to cars.
Trump in June also approved the takeover of iconic American steelmaker U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel, a move that had been blocked by former President Joe Biden and initially opposed by Trump as a 2024 presidential candidate. Trump later backed a deal that gave the federal government a say in some company decisions.
Mesabi Metallics is based in Nashwauk, Minnesota, along the Mesabi iron range. The Essar Group is an industrial conglomerate formed in India in 1969, with ventures in industries from energy and mining to technology and retail, according to its website.
