The mill, expected to become the largest in the United States once finished, is being built in Iowa. Essar Group owns Mesabi Metallics, the Minnesota-based firm heading up construction. Trump's announcement drew a lineup of mostly US politicians, including cabinet members and elected officials from Iowa, but Ruia stood out as the lone foreign businessman behind the president's shoulder, wearing a lilac pocket handkerchief.
Ruia's brother, Shashi, has his own history tied to the company. Al Jazeera reports Shashi was in a different setting a decade earlier, in October 2016, though the full context of that appearance isn't detailed here. The report raises questions about Essar Group's ties to Russia, a detail that complicates the picture of a major US industrial investment fronted by Indian business figures with connections the White House didn't mention.
For Iowa, the mill represents a massive infusion of manufacturing investment and, presumably, jobs once construction wraps. But the identity and background of the company building it, and its founders' broader business ties, add a layer of scrutiny that wasn't part of Monday's photo op.
The loudest questions now may be about who's actually building it.