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The Justice Department has opened an antitrust investigation into four automakers who have challenged the Trump administration by signing an agreement with California on vehicle emissions standards.
The Wall Street Journal, quoting people close to the situation, said the DOJ's lawyers were investigating whether Ford Motor, Honda Motor, BMW and Volkswagen "violated the federal competition law by agreeing to comply with the standards of competition." 39, exhaust emissions beyond those proposed by Trump administration. "
Honda, BMW and Ford have all confirmed they have been contacted about the investigation.
"Honda will work in cooperation with the Department of Justice regarding the recent emissions deal between the state of California and various automakers, including Honda," said the automaker in a statement.
Ford and BMW both said they had received a letter from the DOJ and cooperate with the investigators. Volkswagen declined to comment on the investigation, saying it was in regular contact with US authorities.
Evening traffic leaving Los Angeles via Highway 405 North.
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The DOJ declined to comment.
The deal between automakers and California, the country's largest vehicle market, was announced in July. The agreement eases the new car emission standards set by former President Barack Obama, but is stricter than Trump wants.
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow again confirmed on Friday that the Trump government was pushing for a national standard that would relax the fuel economy standards mandated under the Obama administration until the end of the day. in 2025, claiming that they would be "released soon".
"In our opinion, the previous administration's decision was excessive, erroneous and not based on an appropriate cost-benefit analysis," he said in the program "Squawk on the Street". CNBC. "We will now discuss with the State of California.We want a single standard for the whole country."
Kudlow, who did not mention the Justice Department 's investigation, reiterated Trump' s administration 's argument that federal laws, including copyright regulations, have not been met. fuel economy, take precedence over state laws.
No major automaker has supported a complete repeal of the Obama era standards, although many have supported the reassessment of the rules to account for the current market situation, lower prices for the market. gasoline, 100% electric vehicles and increased sales of trucks and SUVs. Many car manufacturers have supported a national standard.
Automakers are concerned that the disagreement between the Trump administration and California could turn into a long legal battle, creating uncertainty for an industry that plans its products for years to come. advanced.
But respecting the rules of California is a good deal for car manufacturers. The state accounts for about 12% of vehicle sales in the United States. Not selling locally and in other states that adhere to California regulations would hurt business.
CNBC Meghan Reeder, Phil LeBeau and Ylan Mui contributed to this report.
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