The president and CEO of steel producer Cleveland-Cliffs, Lourenco Goncalves, and U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-1st, touted job growth and future investments at the Burns Harbor mill while calling for a continuation of steel tariffs during a joint news conference Monday.

Mrvan also backed President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion American Jobs Plan, citing benefits he said it would bring to the steel industry and the Calumet Region.

“It (the plan) means jobs. It allows our economy to expand and grow as we reinvest,” Mrvan said.

Goncalves said Cleveland-Cliffs has hired 710 employees across ArcelorMittal USA’s footprint since completing its acquisition of the steel giant for $1.4 billion in December. The acquisition included the Indiana Harbor and Burns Harbor mills, Gary Plate and the remaining half of I/N-Tek and I/N-Kote in New Carlisle.

He said a major capital investment is planned for the Burns Harbor mill.

“Burns Harbor is one of our major plants. We have a series of investments we’re going to employ there, including more protection for the environment and improvements to support equipment and to blast furnaces,” Goncalves said.

While he didn’t provide specifics, Goncalves said the improvements would be made over the next 2 to 3 years. He said the capital improvements are needed to ensure the plants will be updated and modernized going forward, which he said is necessary to generate more jobs.

Goncalves said he and Mrvan share a lot of the same goals and dreams for the Region, the Midwest and the State of Indiana.

“We are a company that can pursue and accomplish a lot of

those dreams,” the CEO said of the company founded in 1847 as a mine operator and now the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North America.

Mrvan said that while the timeline for the American Jobs Plan is fluid, it’s a priority of his to ensure the government reinvests in the country’s aging infrastructure, including the waterways, ports and airports. He said he’s requested federal funding for a $42 million plan that includes dredging and cleaning the canal at the Port of Indiana at Burns Harbor, which will help its process of moving steel and other commodities.

Goncalves called for continuing tariffs on foreign steel, despite a call to Biden from the American Metal Manufacturers & Users asking him to terminate the tariffs. The group cited high prices and a short supply of American made steel, saying it’s resulted in unfulfilled orders.

Gonalves said the tariffs should be maintained even though the American steel industry is thriving at the moment.

“The problem is the bad players never learned. It’s a matter of having a type of market that rewards good performers,” Goncalves said.

He said prices aren’t high due to the tariffs. He said the entire industry was down in late March and early April, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said there is also the matter of national security.

Mrvan agreed tariffs need to be maintained. He said the steel caucus, of which he’s the co-chair, submitted a letter in support of the tariffs.

Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.