President Donald Trump said Friday that he's doubling the tariff rate on steel to 50%, a dramatic increase that could further push up prices for a metal used to make housing, autos and other goods.Trump spoke at U.S. Steel맥스카지노�s Mon Valley Works맥스카지노�Irvin Plant in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh to discuss investments by Japan맥스카지노�s Nippon Steel.The price of steel products has increased roughly 16% since Trump became president, according to the government맥스카지노�s producer price index.Trump said U.S. Steel will stay an American company under a deal for Japan-based Nippon to invest in the iconic American steelmaker. Few details about the deal have been made public.맥스카지노�We맥스카지노�re here today to celebrate a blockbuster agreement that will ensure this storied American company stays an American company,맥스카지노� Trump said as he opened an event at one of U.S. Steel's warehouses near Pittsburgh. 맥스카지노�You're going to stay an American company, you know that, right?맥스카지노�Trump said doubling the tariffs on imported steel 맥스카지노�will even further secure the steel industry in the U.S.맥스카지노� But such a dramatic increase could push prices even higher.Video below: Trump announces deal on U.S. steel manufacturingEmployees, Trump supporters, local officials and others filled one of the massive warehouses on the grounds of the Irvin finishing plant to hear Trump. Giant American flags hung from the ceiling and a sign read, 맥스카지노�The Golden Age." Steelworkers in orange hard hats and work clothes milled about, and part of the warehouse맥스카지노�s cement floor was packed with huge rolled coils of shiny steel sheet produced at the plant and used for appliances, doors and other applications.Though Trump initially vowed to block the Japanese steelmaker맥스카지노�s bid to buy Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel, he changed course and announced an agreement last week for what he described as 맥스카지노�partial ownership맥스카지노� by Nippon. It's not clear, though, if the deal his administration helped broker has been finalized or how ownership would be structured.Trump stressed the deal would maintain American control of the storied company, which is seen as both a political symbol and an important matter for the country맥스카지노�s supply chain, industries like auto manufacturing and national security.Trump, who has been eager to strike deals and announce new investments in the U.S. since retaking the White House, is also trying to satisfy voters, including blue-collar workers, who elected him as he called to protect U.S. manufacturing.U.S. Steel has not publicly communicated any details of a revamped deal to investors. Nippon Steel issued a statement approving of the proposed 맥스카지노�partnership맥스카지노� but also has not disclosed terms of the arrangement.State and federal lawmakers who have been briefed on the matter describe a deal in which Nippon will buy U.S. Steel and spend billions on U.S. Steel facilities in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Alabama, Arkansas and Minnesota. The company would be overseen by an executive suite and board made up mostly of Americans and protected by the U.S. government맥스카지노�s veto power in the form of a 맥스카지노�golden share.맥스카지노�In the absence of clear details or affirmation from the companies involved, the United Steelworkers union, which has long opposed the deal, this week questioned whether the new arrangement makes 맥스카지노�any meaningful change맥스카지노� from the initial proposal.맥스카지노�Nippon has maintained consistently that it would only invest in U.S. Steel맥스카지노�s facilities if it owned the company outright,맥스카지노� the union said in a statement. 맥스카지노�We맥스카지노�ve seen nothing in the reporting over the past few days suggesting that Nippon has walked back from this position.맥스카지노�Unionized steelworkers said there is some split opinion in the ranks over Nippon Steel맥스카지노�s acquisition, but that sentiment has shifted over time as they became more convinced that U.S. Steel would eventually shut down their Pittsburgh-area plants.Clifford Hammonds, a line feeder at the plant where Trump spoke, said at the very least the deal will help upgrade the aging plant and help increase production.맥스카지노�It맥스카지노�s putting money back into the plant to help rebuild it, because this plant is old, it맥스카지노�s falling apart. We ain맥스카지노�t really producing as much as we should be because, like I said, this place is old. It맥스카지노�s falling apart. We need some type of investment to fix the machines that we맥스카지노�ve got working,맥스카지노� Hammonds said.Other U.S. Steel union members said recruiting new employees has been difficult because of the uncertainty around the Nippon Steel deal and the future of the plants.No matter the terms, the issue has outsized importance for Trump, who last year repeatedly said he would block the deal and foreign ownership of U.S. Steel, as did former President Joe Biden.Trump promised during the campaign to make the revitalization of American manufacturing a priority of his second term in office. And the fate of U.S. Steel, once the world맥스카지노�s largest corporation, could become a political liability in the midterm elections for his Republican Party in the swing state of Pennsylvania and other battleground states dependent on industrial manufacturing.Trump said Sunday he wouldn맥스카지노�t approve the deal if U.S. Steel did not remain under U.S. control and said it will keep its headquarters in Pittsburgh.In an interview on Fox News Channel on Wednesday, Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Dan Meuser called the arrangement 맥스카지노�strictly an investment, a strategic partnership where it맥스카지노�s American-owned, American run and remains in America.맥스카지노�However, Meuser said he hadn맥스카지노�t seen the deal and that "it맥스카지노�s still being structured.맥스카지노�Pennsylvania Republican Sen. David McCormick called the plan 맥스카지노�great맥스카지노� for the domestic steel industry, Pennsylvania, national security and U.S. Steel맥스카지노�s employees. He initially opposed Nippon Steel맥스카지노�s first proposal to buy U.S. Steel for $14.9 billion after it was announced in late 2023.In recent days, Trump and other American officials began touting Nippon Steel맥스카지노�s new commitment to invest $14 billion on top of its $14.9 billion bid, including building a new electric arc furnace steel mill somewhere in the U.S.Pennsylvania맥스카지노�s other senator, Democrat John Fetterman 맥스카지노� who lives across the street from U.S. Steel blast furnace 맥스카지노� didn맥스카지노�t explicitly endorse the new proposal. But he said he had helped jam up Nippon Steel맥스카지노�s original bid until 맥스카지노�Nippon coughed up an extra $14B.맥스카지노�Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who is seen as a potential presidential candidate, had avoided publicly endorsing a deal but said this week that he was 맥스카지노�cautiously optimistic맥스카지노� about it.Chris Kelly, the mayor of West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, where U.S. Steel맥스카지노�s Irvin finishing plant is located, said he was 맥스카지노�ecstatic맥스카지노� about the deal, despite the lack of details. He said it will save thousands of jobs for his community.