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The Trump administration announced Friday night that it would officially suspend an Obama era regulation that penalized automakers who did not meet fuel efficiency requirements, reports Reuters.
After Congress ordered federal agencies to adjust the existing penalties in 2015, the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) issued rules that more than doubled the amount of fines – from $ 5.50 per 0.1 mile to 14 USD for the same distance.
The rules enacted by former President Obama called for 46.7 km / gallon energy efficiency by 2026, while Trump administration rules recommended 37 km / gallon.
After automakers criticized the implementation, claiming that it could increase compliance costs by $ 1 billion a year, the Trump administration began tainting the regulations in 2018.
Despite the Trump government's announcement, NHTSA told Reuters that the initial goal of the Congress was to ensure that the penalty rate for fuel standards was set at the levels prescribed by law.
New York and California are among the states that have joined the environmental groups in their NHTSA lawsuit for freezing the rules of the Obama era, claiming that automakers need an incentive to make money. fuel efficient vehicles.
A spokeswoman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a professional group representing builders such as General Motors, Volkswagen and Toyota, is pleased with the move Friday.
Gloria Bergquist told Reuters that "NHTSA's own model clearly shows the considerable economic damage that such a dramatic and unjustified increase in penalties would have for car manufacturers, workers and, ultimately, consumers."
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