President Donald Trump plans to announce in the coming days the closure or partial shut down of all or part of the country’s major steel industry and shut down its largest steel furnaces, steelmakers and the nation’s largest supplier of raw material to the US.
Trump’s decision will also likely lead to a surge in imports of raw materials from China, a country that Trump has pledged to combat.
Trump made the announcement Thursday in a speech at the National Press Club, where he made the case that America’s economic health depends on its ability to be competitive on the world stage.
He said that the US is currently losing out to China, Japan and other nations that are not as efficient, competitive and innovative.
“The world is changing, and our competitiveness is being tested,” Trump said.
“This has to be our last gasp, the last gasp of our nation.
And it has to happen as soon as possible.”
Trump said he would seek to bring back jobs to the United States.
But he said that he would do it through trade and not through regulations.
“I will make sure we are making the most of the resources that we have, and we are not going to be a destination for cheap labor,” Trump told reporters.
“And I will make the most important trade deals possible.
That’s what I will do.”
The Trump administration has been pushing hard to ramp up the production of steel and other raw materials, which are crucial to the economy.
But a decision on whether to close the countrys major steel plants would require the cooperation of the nations largest steel producer, United Technologies, the world’s largest manufacturer of building materials.
Trump said that, with his economic team, he would push hard for United Technologies to create a plan to bring in thousands of new jobs at its plants and in the steel industry.
“We’re going to go down there and make them pay for it, but we’re going there and we’re making them pay a fortune,” Trump added.
“But I am not going there, but I am going there.
And we’re doing it, and they’re doing great.”
The decision on the fate of the steel plants will be made by Trump’s Economic Advisory Board, which is comprised of his top economic advisers.
But the decision on how to close them is likely to be up to the executive branch, which Trump said was under a “very clear” mandate from Congress to close those plants.
Trump’s announcement comes as he seeks to boost his support among the coal industry, which has been hurt by the collapse in coal prices.
The Trump Administration has already announced plans to close two coal-fired power plants, a move that has already pushed the prices of coal down by about a third.
Trump has also said he will be looking to reduce the emissions from coal plants, and he is likely looking to do so soon.
Trump and his team have also signaled that they would be open to closing coal-burning power plants in their state of Ohio and Indiana.
Trump, who has been on a tour of coal country and has touted his commitment to coal, said he believes that the steel industries will survive the closures and that he is working with U.S. Steel to help them.
“This is the best steel in the world.
We have some of the best workers in the country,” Trump declared.
“We have great steel.
We’ve got great steel.”
The White House also announced that it will provide $1 billion in funding for steel production, which could help the steel companies that have suffered the most under the Trump administration.
The decision to close steel plants has come amid a growing backlash against Trump from the American steel industry over his decision to pull the US out of the Paris climate agreement.