Business
White House now says American steel not required for Keystone pipeline
By Ben Wolfgang , Washington Times, March 3, 2017
Mar 4, 2017 - 9:10:58 AM

President Trump’s pledge that new pipeline projects will use “American steel” will not apply to the Keystone XL project, according to media reports, directly contradicting the president’s own words last week.

Politico reported late Thursday night that a White House spokeswoman explained that the project, which has been in the works for the past decade, does not count as a “new” or “retrofitted” pipeline, and therefore is not subject to Mr. Trump’s made-in-America requirement.

Comments from TransCanada, the company proposing the project, on Friday morning seem to confirm the firm will not be forced to use all U.S. steel.

The president in January signed an order calling for all new pipeline projects — or those undergoing significant retrofits or repairs — to “use materials and equipment produced in the United States.”

More broadly, the president has made the use of American steel and other materials in construction projects a centerpiece of his economic pitch.

Last month, in a meeting with leading CEOs at the White House, Mr. Trump explicitly told Mario Longhi, the CEO of U.S. Steel Corporation, that Keystone would use American materials.