President Trump took credit Thursday for an announcement by U.S. Steel Corp. that it would invest more than $1 billion in a facility in Braddock, Pa., near Pittsburgh.
The president said the investment was a result of his tariff on steel imports, a connection the corporation did not make in its announcement, though it has endorsed the tariff previously.
“Congrats to @U_S_Steel for investing $1+ BILLION in America’s most INNOVATIVE steel mill. 232 Tariffs make Pennsylvania and USA more prosperous/secure by bringing Steel and Aluminum industries BACK. Tariffs are working. Pittsburgh is again The Steel City. USA Economy is BOOMING!,” Trump tweeted, responding to a tweet by U.S. Steel.
Congrats to @U_S_Steel for investing $1+ BILLION in America’s most INNOVATIVE steel mill. 232 Tariffs make Pennsylvania and USA more prosperous/secure by bringing Steel and Aluminum industries BACK. Tariffs are working. Pittsburgh is again The Steel City. USA Economy is BOOMING! https://t.co/XPXjxli6uc
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 2, 2019
The president instituted a 25% tariff on steel imports last year, citing section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which allows the president to levy tariffs unilaterally on the grounds of national security. Trump argued that the tariffs were needed to protect the domestic steel industry so it could supply military needs.
U.S. Steel said the billion-dollar investment would create a “cutting-edge, sustainable endless casting and rolling facility at Mon Valley’s Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock, Pa., — the first of its kind in the United States.” In a separate announcement Thursday, U.S. Steel said its net sales for the first quarter of the year were $3.5 billion, up $350 million from the same quarter last year.
The corporation has backed the tariff, saying last year that “Our Nation cannot afford to allow the continued rise of foreign imports that undermine America’s capacity to produce the steel necessary for our country’s national and economic security.”
Businesses that use raw steel have clamored to have the tariff removed, arguing it is hurting the broader economy. A study released last month by Tariffs Hurt the Heartland, an ad-hoc group of trade associations, claimed that the steel ones have cost American companies $3.1 billion in increased costs, including $364 million in December.
