The Environmental Protection Agency, under President Trump’s administration, took steps on Wednesday to roll back vehicle fuel efficiency regulations that Republicans have criticized as an implicit “electric vehicle mandate,” The New York Post reports.
An administration official indicated that this was just the beginning, with numerous additional regulatory reversals on the horizon. The official described the day as potentially marking “the biggest day of deregulation in American history.”
Using the Administrative Procedures Act, the EPA is in the process of reassessing policies introduced by the Biden administration last year, which were aimed at cutting emissions across different categories of vehicles, from passenger cars to heavy-duty trucks.
The existing regulations are projected to cost $700 billion in compliance and regulatory expenses.
“The American auto industry has been hamstrung by the crushing regulatory regime of the last administration,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin told The Post.
“As we reconsider nearly $1 trillion of regulatory costs, we will abide by the rule of law to protect consumer choice and the environment.”
In March 2024, the Biden administration finalized a policy mandating automakers to make significant reductions in carbon emissions for light and medium-sized vehicles starting with the 2027 model year.
At the time, the EPA stated that these regulations would result in a “nearly 50% reduction in projected fleet average [greenhouse gas] emissions levels for light-duty vehicles and 44% reductions for medium-duty vehicles” by 2032.
A comparable set of regulations was also introduced for larger vehicles, including new trucks and tractors.
Zeldin, a former Republican congressman from Long Island, announced the policy reversal one day after Trump made headlines for purchasing a Tesla electric vehicle directly from CEO Elon Musk on the White House driveway.
Trump had promised during his campaign to repeal Biden’s fuel efficiency rules, contending that Americans should have the freedom to choose gasoline or diesel-powered vehicles without government mandates.
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