500 high-wage manufacturing jobs might not sound like a big deal, but for the community of Granite City Illinois it is a VERY BIG DEAL. Their blast furnace was shut down in 2016, and today they happily hear the news of its reopening… GREAT NEWS !

ILLINOIS – U.S. Steel announced it will restart a blast furnace and steel-making operations at its Granite City Works plant in southern Illinois near St. Louis as a result of the announced tariffs of 25 percent on all steel imports. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker shuttered parts of the mill in late 2015 and early 2016, largely, it said, as a result of a glut of imports that depressed prices and made steel mills less profitable. U.S. Steel plans to bring 500 steelworkers back to work if President Donald Trump goes forward with plans to act on a Section 232 investigation that concluded a surge in steel imports was eroding the American steel industry and threatening national security.

“Our Granite City Works facility and employees, as well as the surrounding community, have suffered too long from the unending waves of unfairly traded steel products that have flooded U.S. markets,” U. S. Steel President and CEO David Burritt said. “The Section 232 action announced by President Trump last week recognizes the significant threat steel imports pose to our national and economic security.” (read more)

Appearing alongside Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on CNBC, U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt announced that his company is bringing back 500 workers and restarting a blast furnace in Granite City, Ill. Burritt cited President Trump’s decision to issue tariffs on steel imports as the reason.

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