The CEO of Nucor Corporation, the largest steel producer in the U.S., announced his support for President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
“Nucor applauds the first steps taken by President Trump in his America First Trade Agenda,” chair, president, and CEO of Nucor Corp. Leon Topalian, the chair, president, and CEO Nucor Corp. wrote. “We look forward to working with President Trump to enforce our trade laws and strengthen American manufacturing!”
Speaking to CNBC’s Jim Cramer last week, Topalian said, “We saw the memo last Monday on tariffs and what they’re going to do. 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 added. “But, part of the reason we didn’t move forward is valuation. We’re not going to overpay for assets.”
Trump’s Saturday executive order enacts an additional 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada, with a 10% tariff on Chinese goods. The order addresses the “extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl.”
The president has since paused the tariffs on Mexico after President Donald Trump announced that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to supply thousands of soldiers along the U.S.-Mexico southern border to assist in border security.
