At the beginning of his administration, Donald Trump approved TransCanada Corp.'s
However, as time passed, it became obvious that this was an empty promise. The majority of the Keystone XL Pipeline's pipes had indeed been made in America, but at least 25% were sourced from a Russian steel company called Evraz North America, whose largest shareholder is Roman Abramovich, an oligarch and Trump family friend. Meanwhile, Trump's Made-in-America promises to the steel industry have gone seemingly ignored. American imports of cheap foreign steel have risen by 24% in 2017.
Evraz North America is a wholly owned subsidiary of Evraz Plc (LON: EVR), the second-largest steelmaker in Russia. ENA has two factories in America and four in Canada. The company is majority-owned by Roman Abramovich, who was the first oligarch to be allowed to sell his own oil company to the state in a Putin-approved deal. Evraz has been accused in the past of undercutting American steel companies for deals with natural gas companies, namely Cheniere Energy Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN: LNG). To add insult to injury, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced in September 2017 that the administration would delay the decision to impose tariffs on foreign steel in favor of focusing on tax reforms, an unrelated subject. As a result, the steel industry is becoming increasingly impatient, an effect that may manifest in political "blowback" against Trump.
Abramovich's link to the Trump family comes from Ivanka Trump's friendship with Abramovich's ex-wife, Dasha Zhukova. Both Kushner siblings have also invested in Zhukova's art collection business, and Abramovich's yacht was recently spotted near Mar-a-Lago ahead of Trump's expected visit there for Thanksgiving. In spite of the close social ties that suggest a motive for Trump's support for Evraz, White House Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters has vehemently denied that there is any connection between the Trump administration's policies on steel and the first family's friendship with Abramovich.
