Donald Trump plans to roll back fuel-economy standards - The Economist

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Donald Trump plans to roll back fuel-economy standards

The idea is both risky and short-sighted

 

Mar 7th 2017 by THE DATA TEAM

 

 

DONALD TRUMP fancies himself a deal-maker. Yet in his first few weeks in office, there has been more talk of destroying deals than of creating them. This week, the White House is expected to announce plans to scrap an agreement with the auto industry that sets fuel-economy standards for the nation’s cars and trucks. If that happens, it would make America’s carmakers richer for now but less competitive in the long run.

 

The Trump administration’s proposal to roll back fuel-economy standards would undo one of Barack Obama’s most notable policy achievements. In 2009, his administration struck a deal with carmakers. It combined a patchwork of state and federal regulations—set by the Department of Transportation, the EPA, and the state of California—into a single national fuel-economy standard. In exchange, the car companies committed to boosting the average efficiency of their fleet to 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. Two years later, Mr Obama's team hammered out a new set of rules requiring the country’s cars and trucks to average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, an improvement of roughly 5% per year.

 

So far, carmakers have exceeded these fuel-economy standards (beating the targets in 2014 and 2015 by 4.5% and 2.5%, respectively) at the same time as posting record profits. But low oil prices have made the shift to efficient cars more difficult. Since 2015, petrol prices in America have averaged just $2.30 per gallon, down from $3.50 per gallon during the preceding four years. This has increased sales of gas-guzzling trucks and sport-utility vehicles (SUVs), which are profitable but inefficient. A relaxation of standards would allow American carmakers to continue cashing in on trucks and SUVs, which now account for nearly two-thirds of sales, while putting off expensive investment in new technologies. This would boost profits in the short term. But to compete in Europe and Asia, manufacturers have to meet local standards which will continue to tighten in the years ahead.

 

Changing the current regulations will not be easy. Under its new administrator, Scott Pruitt, the EPA would have to restart the rule-making process—complete with technical-assessment reports and a public comment period—which may take years. To get around vehicle-emissions standards in California, the EPA would have to revoke a special waiver allowing the state to enforce its own emissions standards under the Clean Air Act. Such a move would be unprecedented. Even if the Trump administration makes it this far, any new rules would face legal challenges in court. And, as Mr Trump has found in the opening days of his presidency, courts don’t always decide in his favour.

 

출처: The Economist

 

 

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