Century Aluminum Co. plans to invest $50 million to bring its partly idled Berkeley County plant back to full speed for the first time in a decade, saying the decision was driven by steep tariffs that its overseas rivals are now being forced to pay.

The move will boost the annual output at the Mount Holly smelter near Moncks Corner by more than 550,000 tons by mid-2026 and create about 100 local jobs, the company said Aug. 7.

The restart is expected to boost the nation's domestic aluminum production by almost 10 percent, Century estimated. The smelter off Highway 52 is now running at 75 percent capacity.

The decision to step up production was the "direct result" of President Donald Trump's new trade policies, which includes raising import fees on shipment of primary aluminum to 50 perce

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