NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
WASHINGTON, DC, Sept. 28, 2026: President Donald Trump on Monday announced plans for a $15 billion steel manufacturing plant in Iowa, backed by India’s Essar Group, in what the White House describes as the largest steel plant in American history.
The project will be developed by Mesabi Metallics, a Minnesota-based company wholly owned by the Indian multinational conglomerate. The proposed facility, to be built in Lee County in southeastern Iowa, is expected to begin production in 2030 and eventually produce up to 10 million tons of steel annually.
Trump made the announcement in the Oval Office alongside Mesabi Metallics Chairman Rewant Ruia, a member of Essar’s founding family, and Prashant Ruia, a Mesabi board member and director of Essar Capital. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick were also present.
The steel plant is expected to create approximately 1,750 permanent jobs in Iowa and between 5,000 and 6,000 construction jobs, according to company and White House estimates.
The Iowa facility will be supplied with iron ore from Mesabi Metallics’ new mine in Nashwauk, Minnesota, where the company has invested approximately $2.5 billion. The combined investment is expected to establish a domestic supply chain linking iron ore mining and processing in Minnesota with steel manufacturing in Iowa.
Speaking at the announcement, Rewant Ruia said the new Iowa complex would complete an integrated American supply chain extending from the mine to the steel mill.
Essar Group, founded in India in 1969 by brothers Shashi and Ravi Ruia, has interests spanning energy, infrastructure, metals, mining and technology. Mesabi Metallics is part of the group’s investment in the American steel industry.
Trump credited his administration’s tariffs on imported steel with encouraging investment in domestic manufacturing. He raised tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50% earlier this year, arguing that the measures would protect American producers.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds welcomed the announcement, saying the project would strengthen national security, create high-paying jobs and provide American-made steel for industrial and consumer products.
The project’s financing and potential state incentives remain matters of public discussion. Iowa Senate Democratic Leader Janice Weiner said lawmakers had not yet received details of a possible incentive package and raised questions about taxpayer safeguards, local landowners and the use of union labor. White House officials said the project was not dependent on local incentives, while Lutnick said an agreement had already been reached.
The Iowa announcement marks another major foreign-backed investment in U.S. steel manufacturing, following the Trump administration’s approval of Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel.
Cover photo credit: The White House.
