Trump orders review of fuel economy rules
YPSILANTI, Mich. -- President Trump, calling for the U.S. "to be the car capital of the world again," announced Wednesday that his administration will review the next round of tougher fuel-economy standards in a move that could lead to a rollback.
If the review eventually results in the standards being lowered, automakers potentially wouldn't have to make as many cars with advanced carbon emission-cutting technology like hybrids, electrics and hydrogen fuel cells in order to hit the minimums. Though cleaner, they are more complicated to make, can be less profitable and generally carry higher prices.
Trump, in an appearance at a former bomber plant near Detroit, didn't talk about environmental implications. Rather, he focused on the regulations and their impact on American manufacturing and jobs.
"The assault on the American auto industry is over," he told a large group gathered at the plant, now being used for testing self-driving cars. He vowed to remove regulations that "undermine American auto production or any other kind of production."
Environmentalists say Trump's decision to open the review is the first step in cutting back on tougher corporate average fuel economy, or CAFE, regulations due to cover cars in the 2022 to 2025 model years.
Trump told the crowd that the new standards are unrealistic.
"It was necessary (to resume the review) because the standards were set far into the future," Trump said. "If the standards threaten auto jobs, then common sense changes could have — and should have — been made."
Trump said the Obama administration rushed its decision to review automotive regulations that become far more difficult to achieve from 2022 to 2025.
"Just days before my administration took office, the EPA cut short a mid-term review. Today, I am announcing that we are going to cancel that executive action. We are going to restore the originally scheduled midterm review," Trump said, confirming reports from earlier in the day.
Trump's decision has been applauded by groups representing automakers, who say they need a break from the standards because lower fuel prices have altered American buying habits and because of the cost of meeting the requirements.
Under the regulations, automakers are required to collectively average 54.5 miles per gallon among all the cars and trucks they sell by 2025. Regulators said in January that automakers were likely to fall short, to 51.4 mpg, because consumers aren't buying as many small cars anymore. Detroit's big three automakers — General Motors, Ford Motor and Fiat Chrysler — depend on bigger, heavier vehicles like pickups and SUVs for a disproportionate share of profits. They usually carry heftier profit margins than smaller cars.
Ford Motor CEO Mark Fields presented Trump with figures from the Center for Automotive Research in January at a meeting with other auto chief executives to show 1 million auto jobs depend on revising the standards to take consumer demand into account and to align federal rules with state standards.
Environmentalists, however, say lowering the standards could backfire when it comes to job creation by making the U.S. less competitive when it comes to emissions than foreign competitors. One said the Trump administration should be careful.
"They are risking rolling back to the bad old days," said Roland Hwang, director of energy and transportation programs for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "They are creating chaos that is going to take years to unwind."
He says the review is a "first step" to a roll back.
Snavely reported from Ypsilanti and Woodyard from Los Angeles