Steel has been one of the foundations of industry for hundreds of years. Steel was first produced in bloomery and crucible furnaces in small batches as early as 4,000 years ago. In Roman times, Spanish steel was favored for swords. And, in time, iron and steel-making became a major industry in the United States. However, the American steel industry has suffered some in recent decades from foreign competition, and tariffs have been used almost from the country’s founding to shore up American steel; in 1791, Treasure Secretary Alexander Hamilton proposed tariffs on steel, among other things, to bolster the growing American industries. All the tariffs he proposed were adopted. Since then, presidents including Democrats (Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter) and Republicans (Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan) have placed tariffs on steel.

President Trump is again proposing tariffs on foreign steel, as he did in his first term, and the CEO of America’s largest steel producer is praising the effort.

The CEO of the largest steel producer in the U.S., Nucor Corp., endorsed President Donald Trump’s tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, Fox News Digital learned.

“Nucor applauds the first steps taken by President Trump in his America First Trade Agenda,” Leon J. Topalian, the chair, president and CEO Nucor Corp., wrote in a statement dated Friday that was obtained by Fox News Digital. “We look forward to working with President Trump to enforce our trade laws and strengthen American manufacturing!”

The subject line of the letter reads, “Presidential Executive Orders on Canada, Mexico, and the People’s Republic of China.”

Nucor is based out of North Carolina and serves as the nation’s largest steel producer and scrap metal recycler.

Before Democrats get to screeching about this move by President Trump, we would note that the previous president did it, too.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s push to triple tariffs on Chinese steel imports strikes a mostly symbolic blow on an industry facing bigger concerns over faltering local demand and threats of even stronger blowback against China’s surging exports. 

Steel consumption in the world’s second-largest economy is poised to shrink again this year as a protracted property crisis has yet to find bottom and as infrastructure demand growth slows after 12 indebted regions were ordered to halt certain projects.

Mr. Topalian, the CEO in question, is doing what’s right for his company. He’s protecting his people’s jobs and his company’s market share. That’s exactly what he should be doing. And President Trump, in his first term as well as his second, is using tariffs in part as a negotiating tactic. 

It’s working.