Trump can keep pledge to Valley with new steel mill

In July 2017, just months into his presidency, Republican Donald Trump ventured into the predominantly Democratic Mahoning Valley and made two significant promises:

First, that auto manufacturing in the U.S. would experience tremendous growth because of his edict to General Motors, Ford and Chrysler to close plants abroad and bring the jobs home.

Second, that there would be a revival of steelmaking with the resurrection of the huge mills that once dotted the banks of the Mahoning River.

Trump, the billionaire real-estate developer from New York City who ran for president in 2016 as an outsider, struck a chord with the blue-collar workers in this region. Traditional Democratic voters, especially white males, were drawn to him like a moth to a flame.

Thus, he carried predominantly Democratic Trumbull County, came close in heavily Democratic Mahoning County and defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in Ohio.

But while his supporters continue to believe in his “America First” and “Make America Great Again” political philosophy, they must come to terms with this reality: The president of the United States is not an autocrat.

GM has announced it will idle four U.S. plants, including the 52-year-old car assembly complex in Lordstown, and one in Canada. A total of 14,000 workers are affected.

At Lordstown, the end of production of the Chevrolet Cruze compact car is set for March, and more than 4,000 good-paying jobs in the Valley will be lost.

GM has not identified another product to replace the once top-selling Cruze. The Lordstown plant has been designated “unallocated” because the company has not assigned another model to be built there. That means the huge complex will remain empty until GM decides what to do with it.

By any measure, the decision by the giant global automaker to idle the four American facilities flies in the face of the president’s goals for the industry.

The other promise

That said, Trump still has a chance to make good on his other promise to the people of this area: namely, the revival of steelmaking in the Valley.

All he needs to do is pick up the phone and invite John Ferriola to a meeting in the White House.

Who is Ferriola? He could well be the president’s trump card – so to speak.

Earlier this month, U.S. steelmaker Nucor announced it will spend $1.3 billion to build a steel production facility in the Midwest, creating about 400 full-time jobs, according to Fox Business.

Nucor, which operates plants in North Carolina, Alabama and Texas, said the new mill will begin production in 2022 and be capable of producing 1.2 million tons of plate products per year, Fox Business reported.

It is noteworthy that the CEO of Nucor, Ferriola, is crediting President Trump for his company’s growing fortunes.

Ferriola has said that the tariffs on steel and aluminum Trump imposed as part of his initiative to create fair trade with America’s trading partners is the right move.

We have long advocated tariffs on steel and aluminum from countries such as Russia that have been dumping products on the U.S. at artificially low prices.

Along with Valley Congressman Tim Ryan, D-Howland, and Ohio’s Democratic U.S. senator, Sherrod Brown, we have praised the president for protecting American steelmakers, including those in this region.

“All we’re really doing here is leveling the playing field,” Ferriola told Trish Regan of Fox Business. “Let’s remember that most countries in the world have some form of tariff or trade tax.”

Given the praise being heaped upon Trump – he does like to be adored – by the chief executive officer of Nucor, we would urge the White House to inform the company of the president’s pledge to revive steelmaking in the Mahoning Valley.

The region, once compared to Germany’s industrial Ruhr Valley, still has several companies that make specialty steel products.

By any measure, the Vallourec Star complex along Route 422 straddling Youngstown and Girard is a testament to the area’s qualified, experienced and dedicated labor force and its industrial heritage.

Vallourec Star is a subsidiary of Vallourec Group, headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. The company spent more than $1 billion on its technologically advanced complex that produces pipe for the oil and gas industry.

We believe officials at Vallourec, which has become an important member of the community, would be more than happy to provide Nucor CEO Ferriola with a positive review of the once mighty steel valley.