Following President Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president of the United States of America, he signed a couple of mobility-focused executive orders. The orders were aimed at ending the Biden-era Electric Vehicle (EV) targets, one of which was that 50% of all new vehicles sold in the United States would be electric by 2030. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has now moved to dismantle the aforementioned emissions standards passed by the Biden administration.
Lee Zeldin, the administrator in charge of the Trump administration’s EPA has announced that the agency will reconsider some of the Biden emission rules. Subsequently, the move is part of a long-time promise from President Donald Trump to remove what he calls a ‘mandate’ to force Americans to buy electric vehicles. The goal of eliminating the mandate is to promote true consumer choice between EVs and Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles.
The EPA Facing Resistance
The EPA’s decision to recall Biden’s emission rules has been met with some resistance from environmentalists. The executive director of the Environmental Defense Fund, Amanda Leland protested, ‘The result will be more toxic chemicals, more cancers, more asthma attacks, and more dangers for pregnant women and their children. Rather than helping our economy, it will create chaos.’
A report from the Detroit Free Press also detailed angry responses to the EPA’s announcement. The paper cited a statement from Katherine Garcia, director of the Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All campaign, who said, ‘Any attempt to roll back these common sense clean vehicle standards is a devastating attack on clean air and climate action… Strong vehicle emission standards make our cars and trucks spew less pollution, save families money on fuel, and give consumers greater choice for cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles.’
So far, the Trump mobility-focused-executive-actions have brought about a lot of friction and uncertainty in the automotive space. It has indirectly contributed to the recent halt in EV production for car companies like Mini. Nothing is set in stone, so we watch and wait to see what the outcome will be. Where do you stand in the tussle for the environment and people’s choice for ICE-powered vehicles or EVs?
