"We already structured to do some things, but when you see in the near future improvement to the tax laws, improvements to regulation, those two things by themselves may be a significant driver to what we're going to do," he said in an interview with CNBC's "Power Lunch."

In addition, the belief that the U.S. economy can grow at least 3.5 percent also adds to what the company can do, Longhi noted.

"I'd be more than happy to bring back the employees we've been forced to lay off during that depressive period," he said, which "could be close to 10,000 jobs."

In a statement to CNBC later, U.S. Steel clarified that Longhi was "referring to the American steel industry overall, not just to employees of United States Steel Corporation."