President Donald Trump speaks on trade at a U.S. Steel plant in Granite City, Ill., on Thursday. Trump also spoke to farmers in Iowa.

GRANITE CITY, Ill. — President Donald Trump on Thursday trumpeted the renewed success of an Illinois steel mill, pushing back against criticism that his escalating trade disputes are hurting American workers and farmers.

The president pointed to the U.S. Steel plant’s reopening as a success story after he slapped tariffs on imported steel and aluminum last spring. On Wednesday, he and European leaders agreed to open talks on trade, a decision he called a breakthrough.

“America never surrenders,” Trump said in an address to workers at the company’s steel coil warehouse in Granite City. “We don’t wave the white flag.”

Trump held events in Iowa and Illinois a day after reaching an accord with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at the White House to discuss tearing down trade barriers and address U.S. tariffs on steel imports. Trump also said the EU had agreed to buy more soybeans from American farmers, who have seen prices decline sharply since China imposed retaliatory tariffs.

Farmers and manufacturers have criticized tariffs imposed by Trump, warning that they will spur a global trade war and retaliatory tariffs from countries like China, Mexico and Canada that will damage their livelihoods and raise prices on consumers.

But Trump said he stepped forward to protect the U.S. steel industry with tariffs of 25 percent on imports for national security concerns and in solidarity with workers who had been hurt by what he called unfair trade agreements.

In the past, Trump said Thursday, “Our steel towns became ghost towns,” but after the U.S. engaged in “the worst trade deals ever made in history” under previous administrations, he was now negotiating better terms.

Trump brought to the stage the company’s CEO and workers, who spoke of the importance of the plant to their community.

Earlier, Trump said his talks with European allies would benefit Iowa farmers who have been hurt by the fallout from his protectionist trade measures.

“We just opened up Europe for you farmers. You’re not going to be too angry with Trump, I can tell you,” the president said at the work force development event in Peosta, Iowa, where he was joined by two Iowa Republicans, Gov. Kim Reynolds and Rep. Rod Blum.

Farmers and manufacturers have expressed wariness over the Trump tariffs, warning that they will spur a global trade war and retaliatory tariffs from countries like China, Mexico and Canada that will damage their livelihoods and raise prices on consumers.

Business leaders and Republicans in Congress have said they could hurt companies reliant on steel and aluminum raw materials in their manufacturing and raise prices for consumers.

Iowa is among the nation’s leading producers of soybeans, and the event at Northeast Iowa Community College came on the heels of the Agriculture Department’s announcement of $12 billion in temporary aid to help farmers deal with retaliatory tariffs from U.S. trading partners.

Tariffs threaten more than $3.8 billion in Illinois exports, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and major companies including Caterpillar and Boeing already have been hurt.

But Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, briefing reporters on Air Force One, said more jobs have been created by the steel and aluminum tariffs than are being lost. He said the tariffs were instrumental in the EU talks.

“This is a real vindication that the president’s trade policy is starting to work,” Ross said.