Washington, June 24 (IANS) US President Donald Trump used a visit to a Mack Trucks manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania to defend his tariff policies, promote his administration's economic record and claim progress in efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Speaking before workers at the company's facility in Macungie, Pennsylvania, Trump argued that tariffs on imported goods were helping revive American manufacturing and creating jobs across the country.

"At long last, you finally have a president who is putting workers first, putting Pennsylvania first and putting America first," Trump told employees and supporters gathered at the plant.

The President praised Mack Trucks, one of America's oldest truck manufacturers, and highlighted what he described as growing investment in domestic industry.

"As you know, I placed a 25 per cent tariff on foreign automobiles and, very importantly, I imposed a 25 per cent tariff on medium and heavy-duty trucks so that Mack Truck could do very well with its factory in Pennsylvania," he said.

Trump said companies were increasingly choosing to manufacture in the United States rather than pay tariffs.

"Right now, we have more factories being built and I mean, car factories, AI factories, factories of every type that we've ever had in the history of our country by three times," he said.

The President also devoted a significant portion of his remarks to Iran and developments in the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy shipping route.

"As you know, we just achieved a historic peace agreement with Iran to end the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz," Trump said.

He added that his administration's primary objective was to ensure that Tehran could not develop a nuclear weapon.

"Most importantly, we are ensuring one thing very importantly, because this is why I did it. I did it for this reason, 99 per cent for this, Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, and they've agreed to that," he said.

Trump further claimed that Iran's military capabilities had been significantly weakened.

"We're leaving Iran with no navy, no air force, no anti-aircraft, no missile capability, no nuclear program," he said. "We're leaving them without any nuclear capacity and they've agreed to that."

The President also cited a series of economic indicators that he said reflected the success of his administration's policies, including investment commitments, stock market gains and manufacturing growth.

"We just got the final $19.1 trillion in 12 months," Trump said, referring to investment commitments he said had been secured from around the world.

The event featured remarks from Bethlehem Police Department Sergeant Sam Elias, who credited the administration's tax policies with helping working families.

"As a father of six children in a single-income household, I can tell you the Working Families Tax Cuts is a policy that helps my family," Elias said. "No tax on overtime, no tax on tips means more money in the pockets of working Americans."

Patrick McHugh, a Marine Corps veteran and third-generation Mack Trucks employee, highlighted the company's long manufacturing history in Pennsylvania.

"At Mack Trucks, we work hard to build the trucks that help build America and we are proud that those trucks are built in the United States of America," McHugh said.

Trump's visit came as the White House continues to promote domestic manufacturing, industrial investment and trade policies as central pillars of its economic agenda ahead of the 2026 midterm election cycle.

--IANS

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