European owner of major Alabama steel plant to supply White House ballroom construction

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): ArcelorMittal, the European owner of a major steel plant in Mobile County, is supplying steel for the controversial White House ballroom project — but none of it will be produced in Alabama, according to reporting from the New York Times.

Despite a $1.2 billion expansion underway at its AM/NS Calvert facility along U.S. 43, the Luxembourg‑based company will manufacture the steel in Europe, where most of its production is based. ArcelorMittal, the world’s second‑largest steelmaker, declined to comment to the Times and has not responded to inquiries from AL.com.

The company produces automotive steel in Canada and is moving forward with a major Alabama expansion. In April 2024, the Mobile County plant announced it had secured a $280 million federal incentive to build a facility producing non‑grain‑oriented electrical steel (NOES), a key material for electric vehicles.

Business Alabama reports that the new plant is expected to begin production in 2027 and add 200 jobs. ArcelorMittal Alabama Holdings LLC is also the single largest recipient of state tax incentives — including jobs credits, investment credits and cash payments — according to an AL.com analysis published last year.

The company’s expansion could also help it qualify for reduced tariffs, the Times reported. A federal provision allows aluminum and steel producers operating in Canada or Mexico to receive tariff reductions if they supply U.S. automakers. The adjustments would apply only to quantities of metal equal to newly committed U.S. production capacity, as determined by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

A White House official told the Times that ArcelorMittal has not yet received any tariff exemption under that provision.

Courtesy: www.al.com