The U.S. mining sector is hoping to score more policy wins under the incoming Trump administration compared with the first go-round — and concerns around China’s dominance and growing demand for critical minerals could provide the tailwind.
“The first time Trump was in office, he issued executive orders, did quite a bit, started moving some projects through the pipeline,” said Rich Nolan, president of the National Mining Association, a prominent trade group whose members include hardrock and coal miners.
Nolan said the Biden administration, in contrast, has been less consistent, moving some projects and blocking others. “Now we’ve got Trump back, and I think that a lot of the advances we’ve made, in a bipartisan way, will be picked up,” said Nolan. “We firmly believe that the ‘Made in America,’ ‘America-first agenda’ should also include ‘Mined in America.’”
The National Mining Association, which tickets itself as the voice of the U.S. mining industry, is part of a growing lobbying push on K Street to ensure domestic mining companies benefit from a proliferation of spending and incentives under the Biden administration — from the Inflation Reduction Act to the bipartisan infrastructure law — to help the nation compete with China.
