Coal Industry Group: Trump’s Chinese Ship Fees Would Hurt State

The U.S. Trade Representative held a hearing this week on a proposal to charge fees of up to $1.5 million on Chinese ships that dock at U.S. ports.

In written testimony submitted earlier this month, West Virginia Coal Association President Chris Hamilton said the fees would have a detrimental impact on West Virginia coal production.

“No matter how well-motivated the proposed trade action may be,” Hamilton wrote, “if completed it will have an immediate and adverse impact on coal production and employment in the state of West Virginia and other coal-producing regions and states.” 

Hamilton said the export market is a substantial part of the state’s coal industry. About half the coal it produces every year is exported, and that percentage is growing, he said.

Hamilton said West Virginia is the nation’s leading coal exporter and its coal has replaced lower quality coal or Russian coal in many nations in Europe and Asia.

But he said the imposition of the ship fees would price West Virginia coal out of the seaborne energy market.

“The adverse consequences of limiting West Virginia coal exports will extend beyond economic impacts to the state,” Hamilton wrote, “and include our allies and global energy trading partners that are increasingly relying on U.S.-mined coal to avoid energy-driven political entanglements with hostile nations.”

Hamilton’s name is listed among the witnesses scheduled to speak Wednesday at the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington.

The goal of Trump’s proposal is to end China’s dominance in global shipping and logistics.