The largest producer of primary aluminum in the United States is set to invest $50 million to bring back its partially idled South Carolina plant in a “direct” response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, company officials announced this week.
Century Aluminum Co. is planning to create about 100 local jobs at its Berkeley County facility after the plant operated below full capacity for the past decade, the Post and Courier reported.
The boost is expected to increase U.S. aluminum production by nearly 10 percent, company officials told the outlet on Thursday.
Ramping up domestic production was dubbed a “direct result” of Trump’s trade policies, which includes raising import fees on primary aluminum shipments to 50 percent.
The Associated Press claimed that Trump’s move would “hammer businesses” back in June.
Century Aluminum CEO Jesse Gary said in a statement:
Today’s announcement was made possible by President Trump’s commitment to onshoring manufacturing of critical metals, protecting America’s national security, and to protecting American workers in our industry whose expertise is needed to ensure future generations do not have to rely on foreign supplies to build our communities and grow our economy.
The large investment is predicted to return the company’s production to 2015 peak levels.
As Breitbart News reported in 2018, Century Aluminum workers thanked Trump for levying a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and a 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum during his first term in office.
Much of that progress was reversed under the Biden administration, with the company laying off about 600 American workers in 2022 due to “untenable” electricity and energy prices.
Trump’s rapid response team highlighted the recent good news on social media:
Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.
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