An Indian giant bets $18 bn on Trump's steel dream

Indian conglomerate Essar Group, through its US subsidiary Mesabi Metallics, has announced plans to invest $18 billion in constructing the largest steel plant in American history in Iowa. President Donald Trump announced the investment, expressing enthusiasm for the project, which he believes will produce 10 million tonnes of steel annually, making it one of the biggest single-site mills in the US.

Mesabi Metallics Chairman Rewant Ruia thanked Trump for the focus on domestic manufacturing, while Ruia of ESSAR highlighted the family business's history of building steel plants, oil refineries, and power plants. The plant is expected to create up to 6,000 construction jobs and nearly 2,000 permanent manufacturing and mining jobs, contributing $95 billion to the US economy.

The project is set to begin production around 2030, with raw materials sourced from a new iron ore mine in Minnesota, the first new such mine in the US in over 50 years. The tariffs imposed by the Trump administration have been credited for attracting this investment, as without them, the mine and plant might not have been built.