White House Conference on Coal Exports Remarks to Industry Representatives.

First of all, I want to welcome all of you to the White House to a very important conference. This is a labor of love for me.

One of the major commitments that I had when I began my own campaign for President several years ago was to try to evolve for my country a national energy policy that would help us to reduce our excessive dependence on imported oil. We've made good progress with a very farsighted and courageous Congress, and I think the other nations in the world are also realizing that we are quite vulnerable so long as we have no substantive alternatives to a dependence on an uncertain supply of oil from the Persian Gulf region. We don't want to break away completely from the purchase of this OPEC oil, but at least we've got to lessen the competition for limited supplies of oil, help to restrain the price to hold down inflationary pressures, and to give us security with alternative supplies of energy.

Today we have assembled here buyers, for whom we are thankful, the producers, for whom we are thankful, also those who are involved in transportation. Leaders in government are also present, because this is a continuing program that will require the removal of obstacles that have existed in the past to the production and the exporting and the use of coal in our own country.

National security is, of course, paramount for all those who hold public office, and I consider an adequate national and international energy policy to be vital our Nation's security. When I was at the economic summit in Venice earlier this year, the main subject that addressed us in economic matters was how to change our commitment concerning energy in the future.

One of the goals that all of us set, the other seven leaders of the Western nations and myself, was first of all to reduce the amount of energy expended in total terms compared to economic growth that each nation experienced—in other words, to have a more efficient use of all kinds of energy collectively; secondly, to reduce the percentage of our total energy used, which was comprised of oil, from 51 percent, 53 percent, down to about 40 percent—all these goals by 1990; third, to reduce in real terms the total amount of oil that all the nations consumed; and, of course, additionally, to increase the amount of alternative forms of energy to be developed, both the advanced forms of energy, the more exotic ways to use solar energy, magneto hydrodynamics, and the use of fuels derived from the Sun indirectly from growing crops, and perhaps even the use, in an increasing degree, of waste products to produce consumable energy, methane and other products. These obviously are important goals, but I think the root of every measure of substantive progress, at least in our country, is coal.

Many Americans were surprised this year to find that we have set a record in this country this year in the production of coal. Our Nation will produce about 800 million tons of coal in 1980. Our country has never produced 17 million tons of coal in 1 week before, but this year 18 different weeks, we have produced more than 17 million tons of coal. A lot of that's because of the new energy policy. A lot of that is because of an awakening interest in reducing oil imports. But I would say one of the major elements that has made it possible for this sustained high production has been the good relationship between management and labor.

Historically in our country, ever since even before Harry Truman's time, the coal industry has been plagued with excessive disruption in sustained coal production because of wildcat strikes and the inability of management and labor to work together toward long-range common problems. That has been changed. And I'm very grateful for it, because it not only gives management and labor a better prospect for future profits and future income for working families, it also enhances the opportunity for labor and management to work together harmoniously other than the times in the past when difficult controversial contracts were being negotiated. Now labor and management, government, buyers, sellers, transporters can work together, as in this conference, to make sure that the supplies of coal are adequate, that they are sure and dependable, and that prices are kept reasonable.

The last thing I'd like to say is this: We have great opportunities in foreign countries for the sale of American coal. We want our coal to be of high quality. We want it to be delivered on time. We want the supply to be certain. We want the prices to be reasonable, and we want there to be a good relationship between the purchasers of American coal and the American suppliers. These goals are not impossible to achieve. We feel that by 1990, in Europe alone, there is an excellent opportunity for more than tripling the purchase of American coal. Total imports will increase that much, and in Japan and other nations in the western Pacific, imports of coal will very likely increase by 700 percent during the next 10 years.

American suppliers cannot take this market for granted. We, in. this country, are going to have to work hard; we're going to have to be highly competitive with other suppliers; we're going to have to give good service. We've already made plans under my administration for the next administration to expedite decisions to be made on increased dredging of American ports and improving the transportation system to get coal from the mines to the ports themselves. The rapidly increasing demand for coal has proven vividly to us that the transportation and loading facilities in our country have to be improved. I don't think anyone in a position of authority in this country doubts that any longer.

We welcome the investment by foreign buyers in this improvement in transport, loading, and handling facilities. And we believe that the American laws that protect the interest of members of a contractual arrangement are as good as those anywhere in the world to make sure that when a contract is made for the delivery of coal to a foreign buyer, that the foreign buyer will be adequately protected. We are very much interested in improving this protection, which is already existent.

Well, let me say again that I deeply appreciate this group coming to the White House area here to discuss one of the very important elements of national and international existence. And I think what we have done in the last 3 or 4 years to prove to the world not only the present value of coal but to the greatly enhanced potential value of coal in years ahead has been very beneficial indeed.

You have a large responsibility on your hands, because you represent not only our own Nation's interests and its national energy policy but also the interests of the free world and making sure that all varied forms of energy can be used to the maximum in most efficient degree possible. These are some of the points I wanted to make to you.

Again, I'm deeply grateful to those leaders in this room who have made it possible for us to make the progress we have so far, and I turn over the program now to you for a very beneficial interrelationship among one another, because we share a mutual opportunity and the mutual advantages to the enhanced production, consumption in this country and export of our precious American coal to foreign buyers in the years ahead.

Thank you very much.