Trump’s push to save coal faces a new hurdle: his own trade war
May 28, 2025
Mining company Signal Peak Energy sits atop a billion-ton coal reserve beneath Montana’s rugged Bull Mountains and ships 98% of the fuel it mines to Japan and South Korea. Congressional Republicans last week advanced a plan to approve a long-stalled permit for the mine, just as President Donald Trump looks to further boost coal exports. Yet Trump’s own tariffs make more exports an iffy proposition for most U.S. coal. Countries retaliating against tariffs might price U.S. coal out of competition altogether. In effect, an escalating trade war could undermine Trump’s goal of saving coal.
