Iowa Signs Bill Offering $1.36 Billion in Tax Credits for $15 Billion Steel Plant Project
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed House File 2801 late on October 2, amending the state's "Major Economic Growth Attraction" (MEGA) program to provide up to $1.36 billion in tax credits for Mesabi Metallics' planned $15 billion integrated steel plant in Lee County in southeastern Iowa. It is the largest tax incentive package in Iowa history.
The bill passed a special legislative session with bipartisan support — 75-17 in the House and 28-19 in the Senate. "This transformative opportunity will change our state's economic trajectory for decades to come," Reynolds said at the signing ceremony. The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency estimates total credits awarded to Mesabi will reach $1.36 billion by 2041.
The project was announced by President Trump at the White House in late September and billed as "the largest steel manufacturing investment in American history." Mesabi Metallics is a Minnesota-based company owned by India's Essar Group. The plant targets a 2030 opening, with 1,750 permanent jobs projected (at an average wage of $48 per hour) plus 6,000 construction jobs. State lawmakers say that at full production, the single plant would make Iowa the nation's second-largest steel-producing state.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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