U.S. Trade Group Seeks to Block EPA Fuel Economy Ruling

A U.S. automotive trade group hopes to coax Congress to block efforts by the Environmental Protection Agency to confirm fuel economy standards through 2025.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers has urged Congressional negotiators to add language in a short-term budget resolution that would prevent EPA from finalizing rules before president-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20. Analysts are skeptical the plea will succeed.

In 2011 the Obama administration adopted carbon dioxide emission limits that would raise the fleet average fuel economy for new passenger vehicles to 35.5 mpg this year and an estimated 54.5 mpg by 2025. But the ruling also allowed for a mid-course review of the latter target, which is under way now.

Last week EPA agreed that a shift in consumer preference from cars to trucks made the original fuel economy number unrealistically high. But it insists the original formula for calculating CO₂ emissions (and thus fuel economy) on a model-by-model basis is sound and should be retained.

Carmakers have been pushing to freeze the standards at 2021 levels. EPA has until April 2018 to decide whether to retain or modify 2022-2025 rules. AAM complains that the agency’s push to retain the targets now is premature and should await the new administration. Trump has said he considers the current targets needlessly costly.