How Donald Trump’s tariffs are hurting West Virginia coal miners: “We stand to be hurt by a trade war”
Tariffs have been once again a centerpiece of Trump’s trade policy to bring jobs back to the US. But they may have the reverse effect for coal miners.
President Trump has been moving quickly since he returned to the White House for a second term in January after being out of office for four years. He has signed more executive orders than any other US president by a country mile during his first 100 days.
One of those was to reinvigorate “America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry,” which he rolled out on 8 April. That was the day the S&P 500 hit its lowest since he started his trade war with the whole world by imposing tariffs. Those tariffs are not just threatening the stability of markets, but also the coal industry that he says he wants to help.
US trading partners retaliate against Trump tariffs
Trump’s tariffs have sparked not only verbal backlash from the US’ trading partners but also retaliatory tariffs on American goods. Trump is focusing his steepest tariffs on China, currently set at 145%, prompting them to slap 125% levies on many products from the United States.
China was the third-largest export market for US goods in 2023. Citing data from the US-China Business Council, CBS News reports that $145 billion worth of goods were shipped to China.
Exports to the Asian nation supported over 930,000 jobs in 2022. Most of the states with the biggest exports to China, like Texas, Louisiana and South Carolina, went for Trump in 2024.
West Virginia coal miners “stand to be hurt by a trade war”
While not in the top ten of exporters to China, the nation was West Virginia’s second-largest trading partner in 2023. There is concern that Trump’s latest trade war with China will cause pain for West Virginians.
“We stand to be hurt by a trade war,” said Steve Roberts, president of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce speaking to the Mountain State Spotlight. “Instability is also a factor, and businesses need predictable rules and regulations. Fear kills appetites, and fear kills economic growth.”
One of its biggest exports to China was coal. Since Trump started implementing his tariff policies Nick Messenger, senior researcher at the Ohio River Valley Institute, says that demand for American coal has decreased.
He notes that “the president has really articulated two competing objectives. He wants to unleash American energy and pull more coal out of the ground, but at the same time, he’s implemented policies reducing the number of places coal producers can sell to through tariffs.”
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