President Trump will visit Detroit Wednesday to halt Environmental Protection Agency regulations that would force manufacturers to make cars that average more than 50 miles a gallon.
An industry executive privy to the White House plan told the Washington Examiner to expect Trump to roll back a final decision that the EPA rushed out late last year, when President Obama was heading for the exit, imposing stricter fuel economy and emissions standards for vehicles beginning this year.
Trump will make his announcement at the American Center for Mobility in the Detroit suburb of Ypsilanti, Mich. He’ll also visit Nashville, Tenn., that day.
Trump is having lunch Monday with his new Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, whose agency works with the EPA on the fuel efficiency regulations.
• What the industry dislikes: Automakers say the regulation was rushed. The review was supposed to begin in 2017 under the law, with a final decision in spring 2018. It’s also a big hike from 30 miles per gallon average now, to more than 50 miles a gallon by 2025.
The EPA ignored industry comments that the regulations don’t match what consumers want. Low gasoline prices mean people are buying more SUVs and pick-up trucks than fuel-efficient cars, hybrids and electric vehicles. Ninety-five models of electric, hybrid and other fuel-efficient small vehicles have failed to match the market demand for a single model of pick-up truck, industry says. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced last week that cars and light trucks sold in 2016 fell short of fuel economy targets for the first time in over a decade.
• Job growth: Trump has worked closely with the auto industry to coordinate his campaign to increase jobs and his America-first campaign. His decision to roll back the EPA decision would help this effort, the industry says.
• Why Detroit: Detroit is the capital of the auto industry. General Motors, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler, all companies Trump has pushed to keep jobs in America, will join the president at the event. So will officials from Japanese and German car makers, the Automotive News reports.
