Executives at Charlotte-based Nucor among top Trump donors

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — President Donald Trump imposed 25% tariffs on imported steel earlier this year as part of his administration’s trade policies. While there is plenty of debate about whether such strategies will succeed in the broader economy, there is no doubt steelmakers have embraced the tariffs — especially at Nucor Corp., a $20 billion steel company headquartered in Charlotte.

[RELATED: North Carolina Gov. Cooper asks Trump to pull back on tariff]

Retired Nucor CEO Dan DiMicco has railed against the damaging effects of steel-dumping by foreign producers for decades and, largely on that basis, made himself a prominent trade adviser to candidate Trump during the 2016 campaign.

Whether it’s tariffs, corporate tax cuts, a continuing construction boom — or, more likely, all three — recent business gains by Nucor have spurred gratitude and donations to the president from company executives. (The counterargument to measures aimed at bolstering steel through tariffs is that the much larger base of industries and workers dependent on steel for their products and jobs will suffer disproportionately, hurting the economy overall. Look no farther than recent pronouncements by Ford Motor Co.)

Campaign donation records reviewed by the Charlotte Business Journal for Trump during the past year, spanning July 2017 to June 2018, found that six of the 38 people in Mecklenburg County who gave $1,000 or more during the past year are Nucor executives.

Check out which executives from other prominent local companies are on the list here.

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