Donald Trump revokes California’s authority to set own emissions standards

Downtown Los Angeles, California.   PHOTO / FREEPIK.COM

THE Trump administration on Thursday revoked California’s authority to set its own auto tailpipe emissions standards and to require some zero-emission vehicles, a decision that is seen to spark a massive legal battle between Washington and the most populous state over the future of vehicles in the US, news agency Reuters said.

The US’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Andrew Wheeler said the decision will ensure nationwide rules that provide “much-needed regulatory certainty for the automotive industry.” California’s more stringent vehicle emissions rules are currently followed by a dozen other states that account for more than 40% of US vehicle sales.

Revocation of the state standards will take effect 60 days after the formal publication, expected in the coming days.

The US Transportation Department’s general counsel Steven Bradbury said the Trump administration hopes to get a quick legal ruling and is confident of its legal authority. California officials also believe they will prevail in court, but legal experts say the process was unlikely to be resolved before next year’s presidential election.

The Obama-era rules called for a fleetwide fuel efficiency average of 46.7 miles (75 kilometers) per gallon by 2025, with average annual increases of about 5%, compared with 37 mpg by 2026 under the Trump administration’s preferred option to freeze requirements.

In a joint statement with the EPA, the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it is affirming that federal law preempts state and local regulation of vehicle fuel economy.

The EPA said it is withdrawing the Clean Air Act waiver granted to California in January 2013 for its tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions and zero emission vehicle regulations.

“It’s time to put California’s waiver back in its box,” Wheeler said.

He said the push for electric vehicles was hurting the auto industry as most consumers do not want to buy those vehicles, which are more costly than gasoline-powered models. Wheeler said the administration’s revised standards will have a negligible impact on the environment.

California reached an agreement with four automakers in July to adopt emissions standards stricter than the ones Trump has proposed, but looser than Obama-era rules.

The administration subsequently launched an antitrust probe of the companies, something US Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris asked a government watchdog to look into.

One of those automakers, Ford Motor Co., did not say if it backs the waiver but reiterated its belief that “the best path forward is a negotiated settlement that offers a workable compromise. We need regulatory certainty, not litigation.”

Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Campaign, said the administration’s move will “make America polluted again” and ultimately hurt US automakers by making them less competitive in a global market that is moving toward more efficiency.

“By inviting automakers to make 21st century vehicles with 20th century technology, Trump is setting up US auto companies for a repeat of the industry’s 2008 bankruptcies and near-death experience,” he said.

On Wednesday, Trump said the planned move would help make vehicles cheaper and safer.

Officials in California rejected those claims and vowed to fight any federal attempt to restrict the state’s ability to set its own standards.

Calling it a “political vendetta,” California Governor Gavin Newsom, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Mary Nichols, the state’s top clean air regulator, said Trump’s action would compromise public health and leave the US auto industry behind in the global race to build electric vehicles.

Automakers are caught in the middle.

While worried that California’s electric vehicle mandates will be costly, global automakers still need to develop battery electric cars and trucks because Europe and China are pushing ahead with rules requiring them.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group representing General Motors Co., Toyota Motor Corp., Volkswagen AG, Ford and others, declined on Wednesday to take a position on Trump’s revocation of California’s waiver.