U.S. President Donald Trump said, “We have reached a trade agreement to dramatically increase coal exports,” citing South Korea, Japan and India, which is expected to intensify U.S. demand for coal imports from the South Korean government. The South Korean government, which joined the Decarbonization Alliance in November last year and vowed to reduce the use of coal, is reluctant.

Asked about Trump’s stance on his remarks at a meeting held at the Seoul Government Complex on the 12th, Climate, Energy, and Environment Minister Kim Sung-hwan said, “We have decided to abolish (coal power generation) by 2040, and until then, we will import it from somewhere,” adding, “We will check later on where to use the source of income.” It is interpreted as an intention to consider replacing some sources of income with the United States at a time when the use of coal must continue in the short term until 2040, when it is promised to “decarbonize”.

However, it is not expected to be easy to increase imports of US coal in a short period of time. First of all, most energy imports are long-term contracts. For this reason, it is difficult to change this in a short period of time. Jeon Ho-seok, head of the Resource Circulation Center at the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, said, “Coal usually has a long-term contract for three to five years, so it is not easy to change the source of income to the United States.” “Coal is being reduced not only in Korea but also globally, so imports from other countries must be drastically reduced to increase U.S. production,” he explained.

According to the Korea International Trade Association, Australia is the largest importer of coal as of the end of last year. Last year, South Korea imported $4.762 billion worth of coal from Australia. This is about 38% of all coal imports. Indonesia occupies 17% with $2.17 billion, Russia has 17% with $2.166 billion, and Canada has 9% with $1.247 billion. The U.S. is sixth, accounting for only 3% of its total revenue. Seo Jin-kyo, director of GS&J Institute, said, “It would be a realistic way to discuss import substitution with countries where Korea buys a lot of coal, even temporarily.”

In addition, some argue that Korea has carbon-intensive industries such as steel and cement, so it is necessary to consider the advantages and disadvantages of imports in consideration of the quality and price of U.S. coal. “Steel or cement uses high-calorie coal, which is different from bituminous coal from Korea, which requires importation,” said Jeon, the center’s director. “There may be good quality in some areas of US coal, but it will be beneficial for South Korea only if it is supplied cheaper than Australia or Indonesia,” he said.

Meanwhile, according to geologists and foreign media, President Trump’s remarks are also interpreted as a kind of political statement considering the coal industry in the United States. At an event related to the revitalization of the coal industry at the White House, he repeatedly referred to it as “clean and beautiful coal” and also used the expression “coal is the most reliable and reliable energy.” Since he took office, President Trump also said, “Coal production has decreased for decades and increased by nearly 4 million tons per month,” adding, “Coal power generation has increased by almost 15% in my first year in office.”

In fact, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), coal production in the U.S. increased by 5% from 248.16 million short tons (1 short ton = about 907.1 kg) in the first half of 2024 to 260.47 million short tons in the first half of 2025. However, coal exports fell 11 percent from 52.6 million short tons to 46.8 million short tons during the same period. This was directly affected by a sharp drop in exports to China. U.S. coal exports to China reached 5.1 million short tons in the first half of 2024, but fell to 1 million short tons in the first half of 2025.

View article here.