Trump fired back on social media, warning that appearances like Khanna’s on his favored network make it “hard to win elections like this.”

The tariffs driving a surge in investment and new capacity are part of a continuity of trade policy upheld from President Trump’s first term through the entirety of the Biden administration, with Trump doubling the tariff to 50% in June 2025.

Against this backdrop, the Commerce Department recently unveiled a new process allowing certain Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum producers to request a reduction in their 50% Section 232 tariffs to 25% if they commit to building or expanding primary metal production facilities in the U.S.

To qualify, companies must currently supply steel or aluminum to U.S. vehicle manufacturers and meet preferential tariff rules under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The reduced tariff applies only to volumes tied to the projected annual output of the new or expanded U.S. plants and for a specified period. 

This initiative follows President Trump’s April 2026 move to adjust Section 232 tariffs after the Supreme Court struck down broader measures and ordered refunds.

SOUTH: In May 2026, the Southern U.S. produced about 842,000 tons of steel in a single week, 45% of the nation's total output.  (Courtesy of SSAB)

Southern Steel Surge: Capacity Ramps Up to Meet Construction Demand

If you want to see where America’s steel is roaring back, look to the Midwest, where idled capacity such as U.S. Steel’s Granite City, Illinois, facility has come back online, bringing back about 400 workers. The famous Tin Mill in Gary, Indiana, will come back online in 2027 as well. But the real expansion story is unfolding in the South.

The Southern U.S. is now the nation’s steel powerhouse, producing approximately 842,000 tons of steel in a single week in May 2026 – the largest share of any region. That accounts for about 45% of total U.S. weekly steel production, which stood at 1.88 million tons. This milestone highlights the South’s rapid rise as a critical hub in America’s steel resurgence.

Nucor is now running its Lexington, North Carolina mill, a major investment aimed squarely at meeting demand for sheet and specialty steel as HVAC, construction, and appliance manufacturing boom across the Southeast.

Nucor isn’t alone. U.S. Steel’s April 29 press release details a $1.9 billion direct reduced iron (DRI) plant in Osceola, Arkansas – described as “the first of its kind in the U.S.” – designed to supply electric arc furnaces with low-carbon iron. This feedstock will fuel sheet mills throughout the South.

The South has long wrestled with scaling up its industrial base to match the Midwest and Northeast’s established steel hubs, held back largely by a lack of infrastructure. But that is rapidly changing. Years of focused investment in modern steel infrastructure are finally paying off, helping the region turn its longstanding ambition into a reality, driven in part by the region’s explosive growth – nearly 75% of all U.S. population gains since 2020 have been in the South.

Industry analysts at Industrial Info have tallied more than $6 billion in new steel capacity projects underway nationwide, with the lion’s share concentrated below the Mason-Dixon. Their latest update highlights not just the headline grabbers, but a flurry of expansions and upgrades among mid-sized and specialty steel firms, all feeding the South’s breakneck growth.

For sheet metal contractors, though, steel doesn’t come straight from the mill – it flows through a critical layer of service centers and distributors. Companies like Majestic Steel, Chatham Steel Corporation, American Metals Supply, and Conklin Metal Industries are the ones actually putting coil and sheet into contractors’ hands. As new Southern mills ramp up, these suppliers are reshaping their inventory strategies and logistics networks around closer-to-market sourcing.

This southern steel surge means more regional coil, less dependence on long-haul supply, and a better shot at price stability. Official project releases and state economic development agencies are trumpeting every groundbreaking, and regardless of who can take credit, the message for the trades is clear: the steel industry is refiring in its traditional stronghold – and being forged anew in the South.