‘We are walking a tightrope’: US coal miners worried as Trump’s trade war sees Chinese demand for American coal dropping
Beijing has added coal and other energy products to a list of US goods facing retaliatory import tariffs, and Chinese demand has already dampened
US coal mining companies are worried that US President Donald Trump’s intensifying trade dispute with China could hurt their booming export business, one of the ailing sector’s most important lifelines, according to industry players.
This month, Beijing added coal and other energy products to a list of US goods facing import tariffs in retaliation for Trump administration levies. The measure has already dampened Chinese demand for US-mined coal, multiple US and Chinese industry sources said.
For instance, trade sources said China National Building Material International, one of the biggest metallurgical coal importers in China, pulled back from supply talks with US coal broker XCoal and miner Consol Energy shortly after Beijing’s announcement.
A source familiar with the matter said Consol had been in talks with China to supply up to 1 million tons per year of metallurgical coal but would not confirm whether the deal would be delayed. Officials at XCoal declined to comment.
“We’re obviously watching it closely, particularly given what a bright spot exports have been for our industry of late,” said Ashley Burke, a spokeswoman for the National Mining Association, which represents US mining companies.