CLEVELAND, Ohio – President Barack Obama is touting increased automobile fuel efficiency for helping reduce reliance on foreign oil.
The ArcelorMittal steel mill in Cleveland was the backdrop of a speech Thursday about the health of the U.S. manufacturing sector.
For the first time in nearly two decades, the U.S. produced more oil at home in October than it imported from abroad. Obama called the shift “a huge competitive advantage” for the United States.
The plant makes steel used for higher fuel-efficient cars.
Obama says the comeback of the auto industry during his presidency helped ArcelorMittal and saved more than 1 million American jobs.
The president was highlighting some of the positive notes in the still sluggish economic recovery, even as problems with the health care law were the focus Thursday in Washington.
The president also talked about his healthcare reforms, admitting the administration “fumbled” the Affordable Care Act rollout, but improvements will be made.