Trump to meet with auto industry representatives in MI

But the rules couldn’t take effect until the USA government granted California a waiver under the federal Clean Air Act to impose standards that exceeded national standards. The Obama administration, implementing the second phase of legislation approved in 2007, negotiated with the auto industry and the state of California to require a fleet average of 36 mpg by 2025, with variations allowing for vehicles’ weight.

President Donald Trump is interviewed by Reuters in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on February 23, 2017.

At the American Center for Mobility in the Detroit area, Trump noted how he met with USA auto company executives in the White House during his first week in office.

“NADA applauds the Trump Administration for reaffirming our shared commitment to a transparent, fair and data-driven midterm review of fuel-economy standards”, NADA CEO Peter Welch said in a statement.

Trump’s misguided move to appease the ever-myopic USA auto industry would undo efficiency gains that will provide consumers $98 billion in total net benefits, primarily from reduced fuel use.

President Trump will direct the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday to shelve aggressive vehicle fuel economy targets that are a pillar of climate action and anti-pollution efforts in California and nationwide, according to a senior administration official. “The current standards helped the auto companies move from bankruptcy to profitability, and there is no reason they can not be met”.

In Michigan, Trump will meet with chief executives from General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and top USA executives from Toyota Motor Corp, Daimler AG and others, and speak to autoworkers. “The assault on the American auto industry is over”, he said.

Robbie Diamond, president of Securing America’s Future Energy, a campaign group, said there was “no reason for environmentalists, automakers and conservatives to risk a nuclear war over these rules”.

Here, vehicles refuel at a roadside gas station in New Mexico. Experts said Trump apparently is backing down from a previous threat to rescind California’s ability to impose its own tougher standards on greenhouse gas emissions.

Speaking about the changes, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt said “These standards are costly for automakers and the American people”.

Ahead of the speech, the President held a roundtable discussion with auto industry CEOs, including executives from Detroit’s “Big Three” automakers, General Motors, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler. “I know I gave you a hard time but you have to build them here”, Trump said.

Last month, I joined the president at the White House as he signed an executive order instructing EPA to roll back the Waters of the United States rule. They want lower fuel-economy requirements and less-stringent controls on carbon dioxide emissions.