US regulators to rescind fuel economy standards

The order directs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to "reconsider the 2022 model year through 2031 model years for cars and trucks."

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A signed order by Sean Duffy, U.S. Transportation Secretary, on Tuesday will rescind fuel economy standards put in place by former President Joe Biden. The order directs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to “reconsider the 2022 model year through 2031 model years for cars and trucks,” Reuters reported.

The NHTSA will also consider new rules for heavy duty pickup trucks and vans through 2035 under Duffy.

“Artificially high fuel economy standards designed to meet non-statutory policy goals, such as those NHTSA has promulgated in recent years, impose large costs that render many vehicle models unaffordable for the average American family,” Duffy’s memo said. “They also put coercive pressure on automakers to phase out production of various models of popular (internal combustion engine) vehicles.”

Under federal law, NHTSA is required to set Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards at the maximum feasible level. The NHTSA proposed increasing CAFE requirements by 2 percent per year for passenger cars and 4 percent per year for light trucks from 2027 through 2032 with no increase for light trucks for 2027 and 2028 and required 2 percent increases from 2029 through 2031, Reuters reported.

The fuel economy standards issued under President Joe Biden aimed to reduce fuel use for cars and trucks, which the NHTSA said in June would reduce gasoline consumption by 64 billion gallons and cut emissions by 659 million metric tons in passenger cars and trucks.

Will Anderson, EV policy advocate at Public Citizen’s Climate Program called the Trump administration’s deregulatory agenda harmful.

“As sad as it is, it’s no surprise that climate denier Sean Duffy’s first act at DOT is to advance Trump’s harmful deregulatory agenda and roll back fuel economy standards,” Andersen said. “Such a rollback would not only hinder consumer choices for more fuel efficient vehicles while putting the U.S. auto industry further behind global competitors, it would raise consumer’s costs when fueling—all to boost oil and gas industry profits.

Some believe the move to rescind the Biden administration’s fuel economy standards is an effort to decrease electric vehicle sales.

“In his memo, Duffy directs DOT to roll back fuel economy standards not just in the years ahead but also looking back to vehicles from 2022, despite that the American auto industry has already made investments to meet the existing standards,” Andersen said. “We should drive forward with fuel-efficient vehicles that are less of a burden on our wallets and less harmful to our lungs, rather than forcing automakers and consumers to reverse course.”

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