OPINION:
“This whole area needs jobs,” lifelong Lee County, Iowa, resident Connie Baker told the local ABC News affiliate after President Trump announced Monday that the largest steel plant in U.S. history would be built in southeastern Iowa.
“We’re losing our youth,” Ms. Baker’s friend, who identified herself only as Dawn, told the local television station. “I hope that it brings in some families.”
Mesabi Metallics, a Minnesota mining company owned by the India-based Essar Group, is building a steel plant in Lee County that is expected to create 1,750 permanent jobs in the state and about 6,000 temporary jobs during construction.
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Fort Madison City Manager Laura Liegois told ABC that she expects the plant will provide residents with high-paying opportunities closer to home and anticipates a new housing unit will be built as outsiders flock to the area.
It is exactly what this rural county in Iowa needs. Lee County has experienced a population decline of nearly 10% since 2010 because of the erosion of its manufacturing base over the past several decades. The result has been an elevated poverty rate and younger generations leaving the area for employment elsewhere.
This is the “America First” domestic agenda the president touted on the campaign trail, being delivered in office as a promise kept. Thanks to the president’s tariffs, the U.S. steel industry is thriving.
Last year, the U.S. became the third-largest steel producer in the world, surpassing Japan and trailing behind China and India. Still, the U.S. accounts for just 4% of global steel production, so it has room to grow.
Because of the president’s Section 232 steel tariffs, which impose a 50% tariff on commodity-grade foreign steel imports, companies are investing in American steel, as they have greater confidence that foreign overproduction will not undercut their profits.
U.S. foreign steel imports dropped to 25 million tons last year from 44 million tons, as the tariffs leveled the playing field for more U.S. production.
“We’re a very vibrant, dynamic industry,” Kevin Dempsey, CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute, said in remarks to Fox Business, crediting the Trump tariffs. He described steel as “the backbone of manufacturing,” noting that the energy, automobile, construction and national defense industries all rely on the material.
“When it comes to national security, I would say steel is No. 1 on your list,” Mr. Trump said during the announcement, adding that steel is necessary to make planes and Army tanks. “If we don’t make it ourselves, we can’t defend ourselves. We can’t call up another nation and say, ’We want to build 2,000 Army tanks, and we have no steel.’”
Mesabi Metallics said the plant will be operational by 2030 and will rely on iron ore pellets mined in Minnesota for production. Once completed — and local reports indicate ground is already being broken — the project will produce up to 10 million tons of steel as part of an all-American supply chain.
During the announcement, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said flatly: “These are your 232 tariffs, the steel tariffs at work. Without those tariffs, this mine doesn’t get built, and this steel plant does not get built.”
Under Mr. Trump’s leadership, the U.S. has had a surge in private and foreign investment, fueling domestic job growth. The White House estimates that total U.S. and foreign investment under Mr. Trump’s watch is $11.2 trillion.
Some of these investments may not pan out, but economic data indicate many are. The Commerce Department raised its gross domestic product growth estimate for the first and second quarters to 2.5% and 2.2%, respectively. Estimates for third- and fourth-quarter growth have also been rising.
The Wall Street Journal editorial board noted the growth indicates stronger business investment and consumer spending than economists predicted.
“The larger story here is that the economy as a whole looks to be on a stronger footing than during the Biden years when growth was driven by government handouts,” The Journal wrote. The editorial board blames poor consumer sentiment on the economy, calling it the “hangover from the Biden inflation, which continues to erode wage gains and make it hard to save.”
Heading into the midterms, this is the economic message the president must deliver — every day on the campaign trail without distraction.
The president’s tariffs are bringing back U.S. manufacturing and revitalizing industries once outsourced to other nations. It is something rural America can be hopeful about — and is. Just read the local reporting coming out of Iowa.
• Kelly Sadler is the commentary editor at The Washington Times.
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