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Trump tariffs spark ‘exciting time’ for Ohio steel plant as CEO eyes adding jobs, boosting productivity

FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump’s tariffs will be a boon for an Ohio-based steel mill and its employees, the CEO of JSW Steel USA, a subsidiary of a massive India-based steel manufacturer, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.

“It’s a good piece of the formula that results in our company increasing utilization in the next 12 months, from 68% to probably 84%, and beyond that in years to come. So it’s a very exciting time for us,” JSW Steel USA CEO Robert Simon told Fox News Digital of Trump’s tariff plan in a phone interview on Thursday evening.

Simon has served as the CEO of JSW Steel USA since March of last year, bringing with him more than 30 years of experience in the steel industry. He spoke to Fox News Digital following Trump announcing his administration’s “fair and reciprocal plan on trade,” which he celebrated during a press conference as a project that will flood the U.S. with jobs as trading partners move their industries to U.S. soil to avoid tariffs.

JSW USA is a subsidiary of Mumbai-headquartered JSW Group, which owns India’s second-largest private steel company, JSW Steel. JSW USA has two steel locations in the U.S., one at Mingo Junction, Ohio, and another operation in Baytown, Texas.

TRUMP DETAILS HIS RECIPROCAL TARIFF PLANS, ASKS FOREIGN COUNTRIES TO ‘TREAT US FAIRLY’: ‘DELIVER RECIPROCITY’

JSW Steel USA CEO Robert Simon spoke with Fox Digital in an exclusive interview. (JSW Steel USA )

Simon told Fox News Digital that across his more than 30 years in the industry, U.S. steel manufacturers have complied with strict environmental and safety practices, and paid their employees fairly, while foreign steel manufacturers could skirt U.S. regulations while exporting their goods to the U.S.

“We, as steel producers, we paid our employees fair wages, treated them fairly, met some of the most – if not the most strict – environmental requirements in the world, and those practices in our markets, with the simple supply-demand equation establishes market pricing.”

The JSW Steel USA facility in Mingo Junction, Ohio. (JSW Steel USA )

“The frustration is, how is it fair that others that don’t treat their employees the same way, don’t follow the same rules, don’t follow environmental practices… they get government subsidies. How is it fair that they can come into our markets and take market share when it’s not an equal playing field?” he said.

Simon said the Ohio plant alone will likely see a minimum increase of 100 jobs in the next year under Trump’s tariff plan.

“As you look at that increase in utilization coupled with the overall increase in production that we foresee in the next three to five years, we estimate, at a minimum, a 100 jobs increase in the next 12 plus months associated with that utilization rate increase,” he said.

WHO GETS HIT HARDEST BY STEEL AND ALUMINUM TARIFFS?

Trump’s administration issued a fact sheet last week restoring a 25% tariff on steel, which detailed “domestic steel and aluminum industries and achieving sustainable capacity utilization of at least 80%.” JSW Steel USA told Fox News Digital that they are already on track to increase their utilization rate from 68% to 84% – higher than Trump’s target number of 80%.

Under the first Trump administration, JSW Steel USA notably sued the federal government in 2019 over tariffs regarding imported steel-slab materials. The company now makes all domestic steel-slab materials as part of the JSW Group’s belief that its facilities both make products and supply the product in the communities they serve.

President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at Circa Resort & Casino on Jan. 25, 2025, in Las Vegas. (Ian Maule/Getty Images)

Simon celebrated in his comments to Fox Digital that Ohio families that had long worked in the steel industry are making a return to the factory as the industry reinvigorates under the first and second Trump administrations. JSW USA purchased the Ohio factory in 2018, after it had operated as a Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel plant, but sat dormant for years.

TRUMP ADVISOR TEASES NEW ‘GOLDEN AGE’ OF U.S. STEEL AND ALUMINUM

“This is a company that had been shut down for over seven years, when we acquired it. We hired a workforce, trained a workforce, all from the local area. What’s really cool to see is we’ve got employees whose grandparents and great-grandparents worked in this same company, which ended up being shut down, and they’re part now of reviving that company and bringing it to an offering of products that’s extremely competitive and extremely impressive in terms of its value added products,” Simon said.

Trump announced a reciprocal tariff plan on Thursday, tapping Howard Lutnick, his nominee for commerce secretary, to produce a report on reciprocal trade relations within 180 days. Lutnik said Thursday that he will have the report ready for Trump by April 1.

Howard Lutnick, commerce secretary nominee, joins President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

WHAT ARE TARIFFS, HOW DO THEY WORK AND WHO PAYS FOR THEM?

”On trade, I have decided for purposes of fairness, that I will charge a reciprocal tariff – meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them no more, no less. In other words, they charge us a tax or tariff and we charge them the exact same tax or tariff. Very simple,” he said at the White House on Thursday.

Trump touted that the plan will lead to a job boon in the U.S. as foreign trading partners move operations stateside to avoid the reciprocal tariffs.

“They can build a factory here, a plant or whatever it may be, here,” Trump said Thursday afternoon from the Oval Office. “And that includes the medical, that includes cars, that includes chips and semiconductors. That includes everything. If you build here, you have no tariffs whatsoever. And I think that’s what’s going to happen. I think our country is going to be flooded with jobs.”

Simon told Fox News Digital that Trump’s business and deal-making abilities are “obvious to everybody” as he whips through dozens of executive actions and orders in just a few weeks back in the Oval Office, remarking that it’s “pretty amazing.”

“It’s become obvious to everybody that Mr. Trump is not a politician, right, but, more of a business person stepping in and leading our country, from much more of a business perspective than as a career politician. Like it or not, for those folks that have different opinions, this results in very quick negotiations. I don’t think I’ve ever in my time here seen so much movement, so much decision-making, so many decisions being made in this shorter period of time since he’s been in office. It’s pretty, pretty amazing,” he said.

JSW USA purchased the Ohio factory in 2018, after it had sat dormant for years. (JSW Steel USA )

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Trump also met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, and the two discussed trade, the economic relationship between India and the United States and military sales. The pair also “committed to drive opportunities for U.S. and Indian companies to make greenfield investments in high-value industries in each other’s countries,” including naming JSW’s operations at Texas and Ohio as a prime ongoing investment in the U.S., according to a joint statement from the two nations.

President Donald Trump and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands during a news conference at the White House, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“The steel tariffs enacted by President Trump are a necessary step in leveling the playing field for American steelworkers and manufacturers. Foreign competitors fail to protect their workforce at the same safety standards, do not compensate them fairly, and produce steel that contributes to environmental degradation, all the while, seeking to flood the U.S. market, taking advantage of our strong economy, driving a collapse of our markets in the process,” Simon added in comment provided to Fox Digital.

February 16, 2025
PETER NAVARRO: It’s a new golden age for American steel and aluminum

White House counselor for trade and manufacturing Peter Navarro talks President Donald Trump’s tariff negotiations, spotlights the fentanyl drug war and China-U.S. relations.

America’s steel and aluminum industries are not just pillars of the domestic economy but foundational to national security.  Recognizing their importance, President Donald Trump has signed two new proclamations to restore and strengthen the Section 232 tariffs he boldly implemented in 2018.

President Trump imposed the 2018 tariffs under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, and America’s steel industry responded with over $15 billion in investments, expanding production and building new facilities. Century Aluminum, America’s largest producer, restarted idle production lines, Alcoa expanded operations, and U.S. aluminum production surged.

President Joe Biden would end Trump’s Golden Age of steel and aluminum, however, with a withering wave of product exclusions, country exemptions, lax Customs and Border enforcement, and widespread tariff circumvention by foreign countries – including many of our putative allies.

WHO GETS HIT HARDEST BY STEEL AND ALUMINUM TARIFFS?

Leveraging Biden’s weakness, China and Russia would transship steel through Mexico and Canada.  Japan, amidst its declining domestic demand, would target the American market with high-value specialty steel products that undercut U.S. producers.

Canada’s government poured nearly a billion dollars into ArcelorMittal’s facilities, funding the transition of its outdated blast furnaces into modern Direct Reduced Iron – Electric Arc Furnace (DRI-EAF) operations.  These massive government subsidies thereby gave Canada’s national steel champion an unfair competitive edge.

Peter Navarro, Trump senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, analyzes the impact of the Columbian president caving to President Donald Trump’s tariff threat on ‘Making Money.’

As for Mexico, it facilitated a more than 1,000% increase in steel rebar imports.  South Korea would use its quota exemption to flood the U.S. market, exporting over 2.6 million metric tons in 2023 alone. This has allowed Korea’s national champion POSCO to gain a dominant foothold in American supply chains.

Even Brazil got into the act.  It would exploit its quota deal on semi-finished steel to export almost 4 million metric tons to the U.S. in 2023—nearly 15% of total U.S. steel imports.   Moreover, Brazilian producers, backed by export subsidies and a weak currency, would undercut American steelmakers, particularly in slab production, which U.S. mills then re-rolled into finished products at the expense of domestic melt and pour mills.

WHAT ARE TARIFFS, HOW DO THEY WORK AND WHO PAYS FOR THEM?

The net result has been to erase nearly all of the gains under the original Trump tariffs.  Major U.S. producers, including integrated mills and mini mills, have reported deteriorating financial performance and idled production lines.  Domestic steel capacity utilization has dangerously dropped to 74%, well below the sustainable 80% threshold.

America’s aluminum producers have been equally hard hit.  Australia has doubled its primary aluminum exports to the U.S while foreign competitors, including strategic adversaries like China and Russia, aggressively use transshipment loopholes through Mexico and Canada to evade and circumvent tariffs.

Rockwell Automation CEO Blake Moret explains how tariffs will be a ‘net positive’ for U.S. automation on ‘The Claman Countdown.’

As imports have surged, domestic aluminum production has fallen by 30% while smelter utilization rates have dropped to nearly 50%.  In June 2022, Century Aluminum idled its Hawesville, Kentucky smelter.  Alcoa announced the permanent closure of its Washington State Intalco smelter in March 2023 while Magnitude 7 Metals in Missouri curtailed operations at its New Madrid smelter in early 2024, further reducing the number of active primary aluminum producers in the U.S.

To strengthen and reinvigorate our pillar steel and aluminum industries, President Trump has reinstated his across-the-board 25% tariff on steel imports and raised the aluminum tariff from 10% to 25% while eliminating all country-specific exemptions and alternative agreements.

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To stop China and Russia and other foreign nations from using Canada and Mexico as transshipment hubs, the Trump 2.0 tariffs will ensure all imports, regardless of processing location, are subject to tariffs through the use of North American “melt and pour” and “smelt and cast” standards for steel and aluminum, respectively.

The Trump 2.0 tariffs also crack down on the shell game of using “derivative products” to evade tariffs. Countries like China, Russia, and others now ship semi-finished steel or aluminum to Mexico, Canada, or the EU where it is lightly processed (e.g., cutting, welding, or coating) before being sent to the U.S. tariff-free under existing trade agreements while Ukraine sends semi-finished steel to be processed in Poland where it is exported as a derivative product to the U.S., avoiding Section 232 tariffs and anti-dumping duties.

Tariff evaders also ship hot-rolled steel to tariff-exempt countries like South Korea or Japan where it is converted into cold-rolled or galvanized sheets before being exported tariff-free to the U.S. Still others may alter product forms just enough to have them classified as finished goods rather than raw materials, e.g., instead of shipping aluminum billets subject to tariffs, exporters extrude them into duty-free window frames or door thresholds.

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The Trump 2.0 tariffs crack down on all such tariff evasion by significantly expanding tariff coverage to capture derivative product evasion even as the product exclusion process has been eliminated. There have been hundreds of thousands of such exclusions, overburdening the Department of Commerce while exempting 115 million metric tons of imports from tariffs. This bureaucratic giveaway to foreign manufacturers has now been eliminated with one stroke of the Trump pen, ensuring a level playing field for U.S. producers.

Finally, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will make sure there is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide for the tariff evaders.  It will now rigorously investigate and penalize all tariff evasion and misclassification.

In these ways, and in yet another example of “Trump promises made, Trump promises kept,” President Trump’s steel and aluminum proclamations reaffirm his unwavering commitment to American workers and national security even as they will usher in a new Golden Age of prosperity for two key pillar industries.

Peter Navarro is the White House Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing.

February 11, 2025
Who gets hit hardest by steel and aluminum tariffs?

MGA Entertainment CEO Isaac Larian says Donald Trump is a great president while expressing some concerns over tariffs on The Claman Countdown.

President Donald Trump on Monday is expected to sign new executive orders imposing higher tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the U.S., opening a new front in his trade war that could spur retaliation.

Trump’s actions would impose new 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S. on top of existing tariffs on those metals, escalating his efforts to reshape trade policy.

Tariffs, which are taxes on imports, increase costs for importers who typically pass some or all of those costs onto their customers. In the case of steel and aluminum, U.S. companies rely heavily on imports and the higher costs could hurt manufacturers and, in turn, consumers.

“The American economy has far more steel-users than steel-producers, meaning the tariffs will put far more manufacturing jobs in jeopardy than they create,” Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy at the Tax Foundation, told FOX Business. “Looking at steel, jobs that use steel in the production process outnumber jobs that produce steel 80 to 1.”

TRUMP’S TARIFFS ON MEXICO AND CANADA WILL INCREASE PRICES FOR CONSUMERS; EXPERTS OFFER DETAILS

President Trump signaled that he will sign an order raising steel and aluminum tariffs by 25%. (Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)

She noted, “Manufacturers from automakers, farm equipment, household appliances, and machinery used in oil extraction, the construction industry, and the beverage and cutlery industry all use metals as part of their production process.”

“When we apply tariffs, we increase the cost of both imported metals and domestically produced metals, which increases the cost of production in the United States for all these downstream industries. We should expect a net decrease in manufacturing employment and production as the direct result of higher tariffs,” York said.

WHAT ARE TARIFFS, HOW DO THEY WORK AND WHO PAYS FOR THEM?

U.S. companies rely heavily on imports and the higher costs could hurt manufacturers and, in turn, consumers. (Ty Wright/Bloomberg via / Getty Images)

Ryan Young, senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, told FOX Business that cars and housing are likely to be the two hardest-hit sectors given that they account for about two-thirds of steel usage.

“If you’re in the market for a new car or a new house, expect to pay a couple hundred dollars more for an average-size car, and several thousand dollars more for a house,” Young said, adding that higher prices on new cars will cause used car prices to rise too as priced out buyers look for cheaper alternatives.

He added that aluminum tariffs will also raise car and house prices, as well as companies in the beverage industry like Coca-Cola, Pepsi and breweries. Other everyday items made with aluminum that are likely to see prices rise include bicycles, appliances and furniture.

WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH TRUMP’S TARIFFS ON CHINA, CANADA AND MEXICO?

U.S. manufacturers may face higher costs due to increased tariffs on steel and aluminum. (Andrew Magnum/Bloomberg via / Getty Images)

About one-fourth of all steel used in the U.S. is imported, with most of it coming from neighboring Mexico and Canada, or from close allies in Asia and and Europe, such as Japan, South Korea and Germany.

Although China is the world’s largest steel producer and exporter, very little is sent to the U.S. because of 25% tariffs imposed in 2018 that shut most Chinese steel out of the market. The country exported 508,000 net tons of steel to the U.S. last year, which accounted for 1.8% of American steel imports.

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The U.S. is more heavily reliant on aluminum imports, with about half of all aluminum used coming from imports. The vast majority of U.S. aluminum imports come from Canada, which exported 3.2 million tons of aluminum to the U.S. last year – an amount more than double the next nine countries.

Reuters contributed to this report.

February 10, 2025
Trump to announce 25% steel, aluminum tariffs Monday

MGA Entertainment CEO Isaac Larian says Donald Trump is a ‘great’ president while expressing some concerns over tariffs on ‘The Claman Countdown.’

President Donald Trump plans to announce 25% tariffs on all aluminum and steel imports into the U.S. early this week.

Trump, who told reporters on Air Force One about his plans on Sunday afternoon, is expected to announce the new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on Monday. Trump also plans to announce “reciprocal tariffs” – or tariffs directed at countries that impose duties on U.S. exports – on Tuesday or Wednesday.

The newest tariffs echo the 25% steel tariffs and 10% aluminum tariffs that his first administration imposed in 2018. At the time, the U.S. was the biggest importer of steel, while China was the largest exporter of steel.

Likewise, the U.S. is still one of the largest importers of aluminum, along with Germany and China.

PALANTIR CEO TOUTS ELON MUSK’S DOGE, ABILITY TO HOLD ‘SACRED COW OF THE DEEP STATE’ ACCOUNTABLE

President Donald Trump said he will announce 25% tariffs on all aluminum and steel imports on Monday. (Chip Somodevilla/Pool/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

On Feb. 1, Trump introduced the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which includes 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on imports from China. The tariffs have received mixed reactions from consumers and negative pushback from foreign leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

MEXICO AGREES TO DEPLOY 10,000 TROOPS TO US BORDER IN EXCHANGE FOR TARIFF PAUSE

“We need to protect Americans, and it is my duty as President to ensure the safety of all,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Feb. 1. “I made a promise on my Campaign to stop the flood of illegal aliens and drugs from pouring across our Borders, and Americans overwhelmingly voted in favor of it.”

In a White House fact sheet, officials said that the purpose of the IEEPA was to help stop “illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country.” Last week, the CEO of the largest steel producer in the U.S. endorsed the IEEPA tariffs.

In a letter obtained by Fox News Digital, Nucor Corp chair, president and CEO Leon J. Topalian wrote that he “applauds the first steps taken by President Trump in his America First Trade Agenda.”

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Scott Bessent, Treasury secretary, left, speaks during an executive order signing ceremony with President Donald Trump, center, and Howard Lutnick, chief executive officer of Cantor Fitzgerald LP and US commerce secretary nominee, in the Oval Office (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“We look forward to working with President Trump to enforce our trade laws and strengthen American manufacturing!” the statement added.

FOX Business’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.

February 9, 2025
Trump’s next week in office could include meeting with Zelenskyy, ironing out steel deal

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President Donald Trump kicked off his fourth week in office by attending the Super Bowl in what is expected to be another action-packed work week that could include a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Trump will land back in Washington, D.C., late Sunday evening after attending the Super Bowl and spending the weekend at Mar-A-Lago. The 47th president hinted that he could hold his first meeting with Zelenskyy since his Jan. 20 inauguration later this week to discuss the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia.

“[Zelenskyy] may meet next week, yeah. Whenever he would like. I’m here,” Trump told reporters while hosting Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday.

Trump has already met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose nation is in the midst of a ceasefire agreement with Hamas following more than a year of war, and has vowed to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths for both nations as war continues.

TRUMP SPELLS OUT TAX PLAN FOR HOUSE GOP LEADERS IN WHITE HOUSE MEETING

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President-elect Donald Trump shake hands at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on Dec. 7, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“I will probably be meeting with President Zelenskyy next week. And I’ve… I will probably be talking to President Putin. I’d like to see that war end for one primary reason: They’re killing so many people,” Trump said during the press conference on Friday.

Trump last met with Zelenskyy when he was president-elect in December during a trip to Paris ahead of the Notre Dame Cathedral reopening after a fire ripped through the Catholic church in 2019.

TRUMP’S CUTS TO FOREIGN AID COULD BENEFIT US POSITION IN IRAN NEGOTIATIONS, EXPERT SAYS

“You have 8 or 900,000 Russian soldiers are dead, and very badly wounded. And the same thing with Ukraine, you have probably 700,000 with Ukraine. The numbers they gave are a little bit lower than that. But I believe those numbers aren’t correct. I’d like to see it just on a human basis. It’s terrible what’s going on,” Trump added of the ongoing war during his comments Friday.

Trump confirmed to the New York Post on Friday that he has spoken to Vladimir Putin as the war continues, but did not divulge many details beyond that Putin “wants to see people stop dying.”

Trump suggested earlier last week that Ukraine should strike a deal with the U.S. to provide crucial minerals – such as titanium, lithium, graphite and uranium – in exchange for military aid.

“We’re putting in hundreds of billions of dollars. They have great rare earths. And I want security of the rare earth, and they’re willing to do [that],” Trump told reporters at the White House last Monday.

Zelenskyy told the media a day later that he is open to an “investment” from “partners who help us defend our land and push the enemy back with their weapons, their presence, and sanctions packages.”

“And this is absolutely fair,” he added.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in the Oval Office of the White House on Feb. 7, 2025. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump is also expected to meet with the CEO of Nippon Steel this week, which is Japan’s largest steel company. The Biden administration had blocked a nearly $15 billion deal for the Japanese company to buy the American steelmaker, U.S. Steel, with Trump previewing last week that Nippon is now looking to invest in U.S. Steel as opposed to purchasing it.

TRUMP SIGNS LAKEN RILEY ACT INTO LAW AS FIRST LEGISLATIVE VICTORY IN NEW ADMINISTRATION

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting via a videoconference at the Kremlin in Moscow, March 17, 2023. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Nippon Steel “is going to be doing something very exciting about U.S. Steel,” Trump said on Friday. “They’ll be looking at an investment rather than a purchase.”

“Very great company and they’ll work out the details,” Trump said of Nippon, mistakenly referring to it as “Nissan,” a Japanese car company on first reference. “I’ll help. I’ll be there to mediate and arbitrate.”

HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED DURING PRESIDENT TRUMP’S SECOND WEEK IN OFFICE

The president is in the midst of leveraging tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China to bolster border security, end illegal immigration and stem the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. Trump previewed on Friday that this week will include him announcing “reciprocal trade” tariffs on other nations, as opposed to a flat 10% or 20% tariff on other nations, as he has previously threatened.

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“I’ll be announcing that next week, reciprocal trade, so that we’re treated evenly with other countries,” he told reporters on Friday, saying the announcement should come by Monday or Tuesday. “We don’t want any more, any less.”

“I think that’s the only fair way to do it that way nobody’s hurt,” the president continued. “They charge us, we charge them. It’s the same thing, and I seem to be going in that line as opposed to a flat fee tariff.”

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In addition to anticipated foreign relations and international trade announcements and meetings, Trump’s administration is expected to continue its investigations of the federal government’s various agencies as part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s quest to suss out internal corruption and government overspending.

Trump’s schedule for the week was not yet released as of Sunday afternoon, beyond attending the Super Bowl before flying back to the White House late Sunday evening.

Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips contributed to this article.

February 9, 2025
Trump to meet with CEOs of US Steel, FedEx at White House

Royal Palm Companies CEO Daniel Kodsi discusses whether President Biden is right to block Nippons acquisition of U.S. Steel on Varney & Co.

President Donald Trump is set to meet with the CEO of U.S. Steel on Thursday as Nippon Steel’s CEO touts its proposed bid to buy the struggling steelmaker as meeting the president’s objectives.

U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt will meet with Trump at the White House, administration officials said, according to a Reuters report.

Trump has previously expressed opposition to the deal, which former President Joe Biden blocked before leaving office.

The meeting comes as Nippon Steel said Thursday that its bid to buy U.S. Steel aligns with Trump’s goal of a stronger U.S. ahead of a meeting between the president and Japan’s prime minister.

Trump is also expected to meet with FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam at the White House on Thursday, according to the report.

Reuters contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

February 6, 2025
‘America First’: Largest steel producer in US announces support of Trump tariffs

FIRST ON FOX: The CEO of the largest steel producer in the U.S., Nucor Corp., endorsed President Donald Trump’s tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, Fox News Digital learned.

“Nucor applauds the first steps taken by President Trump in his America First Trade Agenda,” Leon J. Topalian, the chair, president and CEO Nucor Corp., wrote in a statement dated Friday that was obtained by Fox News Digital. “We look forward to working with President Trump to enforce our trade laws and strengthen American manufacturing!”

The subject line of the letter reads, “Presidential Executive Orders on Canada, Mexico, and the People’s Republic of China.”

Nucor is based out of North Carolina and serves as the nation’s largest steel producer and scrap metal recycler.

TRUMP DEFENDS TARIFFS, ACCUSES CANADA OF BEING ‘VERY ABUSIVE OF THE UNITED STATES’: VIDEO

The company’s CEO recently joined CNBC’s Jim Cramer and celebrated Trump’s then-upcoming tariffs as tools to end “currency manipulation” and the “subsidization” of steel coming to the U.S. from abroad.

“We saw the memo last Monday on tariffs and what they’re going to do,” Topalian said Tuesday. “And I think they’re going to be far-reaching, and I think they’re going to be very broad to, again, stop the illegal dumping, the manipulation, currency manipulation and subsidization of steels coming into the shores of the U.S.”

“We’re the largest steel company in North America, so, of course, we took a look a year and a half ago and, and, we’ll continue to look and see if those assets come back,” he said. “But, part of the reason we didn’t move forward is valuation. We’re not going to overpay for assets.”

NUCOR ONCE THWARTED A CHINESE ATTEMPT TO STEAL ITS TECHNOLOGY

Trump signed an executive order on Saturday authorizing tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China through the new International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The tariffs take effect on Tuesday and include 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on imports from China. Energy resources from Canada will have a lower 10% tariff.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Feb. 1, 2025, authorizing tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China through the new International Emergency Economic Powers Act. (Getty Images)

The tariffs were created in light of “extraordinary” threats stemming from “illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl,” according to the order.

NUCOR CEO ON TARIFFS: WE’VE BEEN IN A TRADE WAR FOR 30 YEARS

“This challenge threatens the fabric of our society,” the executive order states. “Gang members, smugglers, human traffickers, and illicit drugs of all kinds have poured across our borders and into our communities.

“Canada has played a central role in these challenges, including by failing to devote sufficient attention and resources or meaningfully coordinate with United States law enforcement partners to effectively stem the tide of illicit drugs.”

The tariffs were created in light of “extraordinary” threats stemming from “illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl,” according to President Donald Trump’s executive order. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Foreign leaders have railed against the tariffs. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Saturday that her country “categorically reject[s] the White House’s slander against the Mexican government of having alliances with criminal organizations, as well as any intention of intervention in our territory.”

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau encouraged residents to “buy Canada” by checking labels at stores to ensure a product is made in the Great White North.

TRUMP SAYS CANADA WOULD HAVE NO TARIFFS AS 51ST STATE, AS OBSERVERS BRACE FOR TRADE WAR

Trump defended the tariffs Sunday evening while talking to reporters gathered at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

The CEO of the largest steel producer in the U.S., Nucor Corp., endorsed President Donald Trump’s tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico. Pictured here is a Nucor steel recycling plant in Seattle. (Getty Images)

“Canada has been very abusive of the United States for many years. They don’t allow our banks,” Trump said. “And you know that Canada does not allow banks to go in, if you think about it. That’s pretty amazing. If we have a U.S. bank, they don’t allow them to go in.”

“Canada has been very tough for oil on energy. They don’t allow our farm products in, essentially. They don’t allow a lot of things in. And we allow everything to come in as being a one-way street.”

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Former President Joe Biden also imposed tariffs during his administration, including on steel and aluminum shipped from Mexico to the U.S. but made elsewhere.

Fox News Digital’s Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.

February 3, 2025