Letter to Editor: It’s time to stop apologizing for wanting to put American workers first

I’ve spent my life in the steel industry, and I can tell you one thing with absolute certainty: a nation that doesn’t make things is a nation in decline. Manufacturing isn’t just one part of our economy, it is the very foundation of our national strength, our prosperity, and our independence. When we let our manufacturing base erode, we are outsourcing our future.

For too long, we’ve been told a convenient story: that it’s cheaper and more efficient to let other countries make our goods. We’ve watched as factories closed, jobs disappeared, and entire communities were hollowed out. This wasn’t just a loss of employment, it was a loss of dignity, skill, and the promise of a middle-class life for millions of Americans. We traded the hum of American factories for the silence of dependence.

Nowhere is this more critical than in the steel industry. Steel is not just another commodity. It is the literal backbone of our nation. It forms the skeletons of our skyscrapers, the decks of our bridges, and the pipelines that carry our energy. Our military relies on it for our ships, tanks, and aircraft. To depend on foreign nations, some of whom do not share our values or interests, for a material so vital to our national security is strategic malpractice.

When we allow unfairly traded, foreign-made steel to flood our market, we are not just getting a “good deal.” We are undermining our own ability to stand on our own two feet. We are creating a vulnerability that can be exploited at any time, whether through supply chain disruptions, trade disputes, or geopolitical conflict. True independence means having the sovereign capability to produce what we need, when we need it.

Supporting domestic manufacturing is the most direct way to rebuild our economy from the ground up. Every ton of steel produced in an American mill has a powerful ripple effect. It supports good-paying, family-sustaining jobs on the factory floor. It creates business for suppliers, truckers, and local shops. It generates tax revenue that funds our schools, roads, and first responders. This is how you build real, lasting wealth for a nation — not through complex financial instruments, but by making tangible things.

From Pennsylvania’s Shenango Valley to Ohio’s Guernsey County, our steel operations at Wheatland Tube, Sharon Tube and Picoma support multigenerational careers and a web of local contractors, service providers, and trucking firms. We have invested more than $100 million on projects at these facilities over the past year and currently employ more than 820 people across our five locations in the area.

Let’s also be clear about innovation. American steel producers are among the cleanest and most efficient in the world. We invest in new technologies to reduce emissions and improve safety because we are committed to our communities and our environment.

Our facilities in the greater Youngstown region offer modern equipment, upgraded lines and automated warehousing paired with technical training — all designed to create more high-skill opportunities for Pennsylvanians and Ohioans.

When we offshore our production, we are often offshoring our environmental responsibilities to countries with lax standards. By investing in American manufacturing, we are investing in a more sustainable future. “Build American” keeps the Valleys’ mills humming and local businesses in the region busy.

The path forward is clear. We must demand a level playing field for American workers and industries. We need trade policies that reward fair competition, not those that allow foreign state-subsidized companies to undercut our own. We must choose to build America with American-made products, from the steel in our infrastructure projects to the goods in our homes.

This isn’t about retreating from the world. It’s about rebuilding our strength so we can engage with the world from a position of power and self-reliance. It’s time to stop apologizing for wanting to put American workers first. It’s time to reignite the furnaces, roll up our sleeves, and get back to the business of building our nation. Our security, our prosperity, and our very future depend on it.

We all need to play our part to KEEP STEEL HERE.