A vigorous court challenge is to be expected. New Work State’s general and 12 other top state law enforcement’s try to roll back vehicle emission rules announced by Trump’s administration before. In March, President Donald Trump ordered a review of U.S. vehicle fuel-efficiency standards from 2022-2025 put in place by the Obama administration, saying they were too tough on the auto industry. The push to weaken the rules by the Trump administration comes as automakers are worried that consumers shift to larger vehicles and low gas prices will make it expensive or impossible to meet the regulations. They also fear a prolonged fight with states over the rules could make revising their product plans difficult. Democratic state officials have been increasingly aggressive in challenging Trump administration regulatory rollback efforts.
An EPA spokesman said Friday the agency is reviewing the letter. Automakers including General Motors, Ford, and Toyota say the Obama administration did not conduct a proper review to ensure those rules are feasible. Automakers have met with Trump administration officials in recent months and hope to reach a deal with California and other states on vehicle fuel efficiency standards. Gloria Bergquist, a spokeswoman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group, said automakers "urge everyone to avoid pre-judging the results" of the ongoing review. "A process is now under way again for a thoughtful and coordinated analysis."
California has opposed weakening the rules, threatened to pursue tougher standards unilaterally and could mount a legal challenge. The White House plans to hold negotiations with car companies, California and potentially other states. A deal would remove uncertainty for automakers, who need years of lead time to engineer future models and want uniform rules across all 50 states.
