In a Tuesday interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer, Nucor CEO Leon Topalian expressed optimism about what President Donald Trump’s tariff policies mean for the U.S. steel industry.
“We saw the memo last Monday on tariffs and what they’re going to do,” Topalian said. “And I think they’re going to be far reaching, and I think they’re going to be very broad to, again, stop the illegal dumping, the manipulation, currency manipulation and subsidization of steels coming into the shores of the U.S.”
He referenced actions during Trump’s first term, when the administration imposed a 25% tariff on steel imports, meant to curb dumping steel into the U.S. market. Dumping refers to when a country exports products to other countries at a much lower price than in those countries’ existing markets. While Topalian said Nucor will “compete against anybody in the world,” this dumping “creates a very unbalanced and unlevel playing field that has hurt the steel industry for decades.”
Topalian also briefly discussed U.S. Steel, following rumors that peer Cleveland-Cliffs wants to acquire the company after the government blocked Japan’s Nippon Steel from buying it. CNBC reported that Cleveland-Cliffs intends to buy U.S. Steel and then sell the company to Nucor. Nucor said last year that it had been interested in acquiring some of U.S. Steel’s assets, but ultimately did not do so because of pricing concerns.
“We’re the largest steel company in North America, so of course we took a look a year and a half ago and, and, we’ll continue to look and see if those assets come back,” he said. “But, part of the reason we didn’t move forward is valuation. We’re not going to overpay for assets.”
According to Topalian, U.S. Steel is “a shell of itself” because leadership didn’t recognize technological innovation, changes in the industry and emerging competitors. He claimed that looking at his company’s net earnings, “it would take the next three competitors combined to get anywhere close to what Nucor has done.”
“We’ve been focused on executing a strategy that has resulted in an unprecedented opportunity to partner with Nippon to secure jobs, invest capital and infuse global leading knowhow and technology into U. S. Steel,” a spokesperson for U.S. Steel said. “We will continue to compete vigorously for the benefit of our stockholders, customers, employees, and communities.”
Cleveland-Cliffs declined to comment.
