By Jonathan Gallardo
Gillette News Exchange
Via- Wyoming News Exchange

GILLETTE — Gov. Mark Gordon is hopeful that Wyoming’s blossoming trade relationship with Taiwan and Japan will lead to some exciting developments down the road.

Last week, Gordon met with members of the Japanese Consulate General’s Office, the Japan External Trade Organization, the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization and representatives from Wyoming’s gas, coal, uranium and critical minerals industries to discuss investment and export opportunities.

Gordon said that on a recent trade mission to Taiwan and Japan, the main takeaway was that Wyoming has something that those two places want: energy.

Drew Perkins, Gordon’s chief of staff and a former state senator, said Taiwan and Japan “want to have a diversified energy portfolio, they want energy from all sources.”

The two were targeted by the tariffs handed out by the presidential administration, and they both have goals to be carbon-neutral by 2050.

“Both countries feel that one of the best ways they can reduce their trade deficit is by buying US energy,” Gordon said, adding that even with the “net-zero goals…they recognize that Wyoming coal in particular has a huge advantage to help meet that.”

The biggest hurdle is finding a way to ship the coal off of the West Coast, Gordon said. He’s hoping to “rekindle” the port in Longview, Washington, but added that all options along the coast, from Oregon to Mexico, are being explored.

Gillette Mayor Shay Lundvall said the city will “stand ready to support in whatever capacity that we can,” noting that the “runway is short.”

“If we don’t do our part, we’re going to lose these opportunities, we’re going to lose this economic vitality that Wyoming is so well positioned for,” Lundvall said.

There are both Democrat and Republican governors who are hoping to work with Japan and Taiwan, which Gordon said gives him confidence that things will be able to move forward regardless of who’s in the White House.

“Wyoming has already proven we can produce energy in a carbon-efficient way that isn’t going to cost anybody anything more but is going to make it much more competitive,” he said.

Not doing anything will lead to a gradual decline, and nothing will change for the better, he said, adding that there is a “great degree of urgency” with all of this, but there have been some hangups in Congress that have slowed things down.

“It is quite frustrating that the Senate has been so slow in confirmation of the people that can make this happen,” Gordon said, specifically pointing out the delay in the confirmation of Brian Nesvik for director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Gordon said northeast Wyoming, particularly Campbell County, saw tremendous growth in the 1970s and 1980s in the wake of the Clean Air Act because of its low-sulfur coal.

“Because of what that regulation did, this area of the country exploded economically,” he said. “We need to make sure we continue that legacy.”