July 16, 2026 - The US anthracite coal industry welcomed the Trump administration's Section 232 national security investigation into anthracite coal imports, arguing tariffs are needed to counter foreign competition.

The US Department of Commerce launched a national security investigation into anthracite coal and metallurgical bituminous coal imports June 29 under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The Trump administration has determined these materials are considered critical for domestic steel production.

The US produces most of its own anthracite and metallurgical bituminous coal and a tariff will likely have minimal impact, analysts said. The US imported 121,176 metric tons of anthracite coal, which is needed for electric arc furnace steel production, which would be 4.5% of the 2.7 million mt of produced domestically in 2024, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence's Global Trade Analytics Suite and the US Energy Information Administration. Of the 2024 imports, 29.9% came from Peru, but those imports rose to 62.1% in 2025.

"We have concerns about a serious threat to the ongoing existence of this industry, and since anthracite is so concentrated in Pennsylvania as the only domestic source of this critical material to the steel industry, we see it very clearly as a threat," Greg Driscoll, chair of Blaschak Anthracite, a miner in Pennsylvania, told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy.

The Trump administration has used the same trade law to impose 50% tariffs on steel, aluminum and some semi-finished copper imports. 

Peru anthracite production rises 

Anthracite coal producers pointed to increased anthracite production in Peru that is flooding the US market.

Peru's total coal production increased 1,030% from 2000 to 2023, according to the International Energy Agency. The US imported $37.3 million, or 215,220 mt, of anthracite coal in 2025, of which $23.9 million came from Peru, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

The US also imports smaller quantities of anthracite from the UK and China. Pennsylvania produced around 2.7 million mt of anthracite coal in 2024, dwarfing the amount imported.

Pennsylvania's anthracite producers first requested that the Department of Commerce impose 100% tariffs on all foreign anthracite coal imports via a memo sent in July 2025.

Producers became worriedwhen anthracite imports from Russia were sold in US marketsat lower prices after Russian companies received rail subsidies for coal shipments. But the influx of imports ended when the US placed sanctions on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Now, anthracite producers are focused on the negative impacts from Peru imports flooding the market.

"The fact that there are no regulatory costs associated with anthracite production in Peru, we see this as an unfair competition that we can't possibly match," Driscoll said. 

Investigation targets steelmaking materials 

The Section 232 investigation also includes metallurgical bituminous coal, a grade of coal used in blast furnaces. Most US metallurgical coal, also known as coking coal, is considered bituminous.

Metallurgical bituminous coal is used to produce coke for blast furnace steelmaking, while anthracite is used as a carbon source in electric arc furnace production. Steel producers Cleveland-Cliffs and US Steel operate blast furnaces, while most domestic steel production relies on electric arc furnaces.

The Commerce Department probe does not list other forms of bituminous and sub-bituminous coal and briquettes, lignite, coke and coal gas as part of the investigation.

US imports of metallurgical bituminous coal are almost entirely from Canada, which accounted for $85.6 million, or 412,086 mt, in 2025. This encompasses 99.9% of all imports.

The US produced 64.9 million mt of metallurgical coal in 2024 and exported 51.4 million mt, worth $9.7 billion.

The US has a wide variety of metallurgical coal types and significant reserves, said Natalie Biggs, Wood Mackenzie's global head of base metals markets.

"The amount of imports of any metallurgical coal or bituminous coal from other countries into the US is pretty minuscule," Biggs said.

Industry sees limited effect on downstream costs 

The Section 232 investigation could result in tariffs on imported coal products if the Commerce Department determines there is a national security risk.

Anthracite coal producers say new tariffs would not raise costs for downstream producers.

Anthracite coal is a small piece of the steel industry and the EAF market, Will Rich, vice president of business development at Pennsylvania producer Reading Anthracite, told Platts.

"In the grand scheme of the steel industry, particularly the EAF market, our ingredient, our piece of the puzzle is so small and so insignificant to their total cost structure that no one should see this downstream," Rich said.

Imposing tariffs on anthracite imports would help producers protect labor and ancillary businesses, Rich said.