Vice President Vance touts ‘golden age’ of manufacturing in SC steel visit

HUGER — Vice President J.D. Vance told a crowd at the Berkeley County mill for the country’s largest steel producer that America is entering “a golden age” for manufacturing.

Vance spoke Thursday at the Nucor mill in rural Huger to celebrate the first 100 days of the Trump administration.

In his 20-minute speech, the vice president categorized the administration’s controversial tariff policy as the catalyst for an incoming boom in U.S. jobs and American-made products.

“One hundred days under Donald Trump’s leadership sparks the beginning of the industrial renaissance in the United States of America,” Vance told the crowd of around 500, made up of steel workers and other invited guests.

“I believe the golden age of American manufacturing started 100 days ago, and we’re building it right here at Nucor steel in South Carolina.”

Vance leaned on his own past as the grandson of a steel worker in his hometown of Middletown, Ohio. He spoke about how his grandfather, who helped raise him, was proud of his profession and could name every American car made from Armco steel.

He told the Nucor steel workers he hopes they get the same satisfaction.

“When you see a lawn mower, a water heater, a kitchen appliance in your neighbor’s home, or your home, I hope every single one of you guys in front of me feel a sense of pride,” Vance said as workers in the crowd nodded their heads. “Because these are the products that make America work.”

The promise of a stable, well-paying job with a good pension that drove people to companies like Nucor has largely disappeared, Vance said.

This administration aims to bring them back, Vance said.

“I think we’ve got to send messages to our young people that the most interesting work — the work that’s going to challenge your mind but also allow you to work with your hands — is found at American steel mills right here in Nucor Berkeley in South Carolina,” Vance said to applause.

Vance was introduced by Lee Zeldin, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, who looked at the crowd and said, “this is red, white and blue, made in America.”

He told them it’s possible to invest in manufacturing and still protect the environment.

“We choose both,” Zeldin told the crowd. “That is the Trump EPA, delivering for the people of South Carolina and delivering for the United States of America.”

Nucor produces a quarter of new steel refined in the U.S. The company is based across the state line in Charlotte, North Carolina, but founded in South Carolina and still employs more than 2,500 people total at locations around the state.

The Berkeley plant alone employs around 1,000 people and produces 3.6 million tons of steel annually.

The company has been a consistent supporter of the Trump administration’s tariff-laden economic plan. A 25% tariff on the importers of foreign steel products went into effect March 12.

Two days ago, Nucor CEO Leon Topalian told CNBC that the company has its biggest backlog in history, specifically mentioning the Berkeley mill in the interview.

Topalian thanked the administration Thursday “for continuing to level the playing field for American steel producers.”

While Topalian continues to back the tariffs, many South Carolina industries, like the state’s multibillion-dollar auto sector, are in a state of flux as they adjust to often-changing announcements about tariffs and how they’ll affect the cost of foreign-made parts used to build vehicles here.

U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the state’s lone Democratic congressman, has been a staunch critic of the tariffs.

Clyburn said in a statement Thursday that Trump’s second in command would be better served meeting with South Carolinians “from all walks of life.”

“Trump’s exorbitant tariffs — imposed on countless essential products without any strategy — are increasing costs, jeopardizing retirement savings, threatening jobs, and putting small businesses at risk,” Clyburn said.

“South Carolina stands to be harmed disproportionately,” the statement said.

Vance told the crowd that tariffs are part of an effort to build up middle-class jobs in America, rather than let them be outsourced to other countries.

“Do you want to ship American jobs off to the People’s Republic of China?” He asked. “Do you want to rely on foreign corporations to make the things that you need in your home and your families need every single day?”

The crowd shouted “no” in response to both questions.

“So why don’t we rebuild America’s middle class?” he asked rhetorically. “Why don’t we rebuild American manufacturing? And why don’t we rebuild American industry, just like you’re doing right here.”

Later Thursday, U.S. Sen. Linsey Graham put out a statement thanking the Trump administration for choosing Nucor Steel in South Carolina to “make the case for bringing high-paying manufacturing jobs back to America.”

Urging Americans to support Trump as he “cleans up the trade mess that’s built up over the past 60 years,” Graham pointed to Nucor as an example, saying the company has had to compete against China and other countries “dumping low-cost steel.”