Nucor's Topalian lauds Trump's trade policies, downplays impact

Nucor’s top exec Leon Topalian said the benefit of the current administration’s aggressive trade policies “trumps” any risk of potentially higher raw materials prices.

“The small impact potential of a higher raw material price is much smaller than the impact of the overall macro-economic trends in the industry, a healthy, vibrant steel industry,” Topalian, chair, president, and CEO of the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker, said in an earnings call on Tuesday.

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is managing editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years, starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.