Coal offers cautious optimism for Trump at first post-election conference
URL: https://www.snl.com/InteractiveX/article.aspx?CDID=A-38623833-12331&KPLT=4
SNL, Christopher Coats, 12/8/2016
At one of the first industrywide gatherings since Election Day, the coal sector offered cautious optimism about the Trump administration’s impact on the industry after years of challenges.
Gathered in New York for the 15th Annual Coal Trading Conference on Dec. 5 and 6, industry representatives offered their takes on election results that, admittedly, few saw coming.
Throughout this year’s presidential campaign, Donald Trump pledged support for the coal industry, promising on several occasions to push back on Obama administration regulations often cited as detrimental to the industry and to “put miners back to work.”
The response from coal-producing regions was resounding, with states like West Virginia and Kentucky delivering some of Trump’s largest margins of victory in November. However, with the campaign now behind him, it is unclear what the president-elect will be able to do to increase production to boost employment.