In September 2019, the Trump administration announced plans to block California from setting its own vehicle emissions standards, a move the White House argued was necessary for economic and safety reasons.
Actually, this action by the White House was part of its ongoing push to roll back Obama-era environmental rules that President Donald Trump argues have held back the U.S. economy, a senior administration official told CNBC.
And the latest news on Trump’s decision goes even further back, to 2018 when Trump proposed relaxing the tough standards favored by former President Barack Obama, saying they “are no longer appropriate and reasonable” beyond 2020.
According to Reuters, Trump said on Friday that the dispute was over “a tiny amount of fuel – of which we have plenty.” He said the rules would lead to “safer and more affordable vehicles.”
And as usual, Trump is throwing out all kinds of facts and fake data for which he has no evidence – saying the existing rules would require “extra computers put on the engine.”
In response to Trump’s threats to cut federal funding to California if they didn’t comply with the administration’s proposed federal fuel emissions standards, California and 13 other states (plus the District of Columbia) worked out a somewhat weakened national standard that would preserve California’s special status.
Then, in July this year, Ford, Honda, BMW, and Volkswagen worked out a deal with the state to continue making vehicles that met California’s standards, blindsiding and enraging the White House, which declared the move a “PR stunt,” according to the Sierra Club.
By October 2019, Trump had put so much pressure on automakers that General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota, and nine other automakers signed on to Trump’s attack on California’s waiver. “These automakers had a choice, and they chose wrong,” said Jack Gillis, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America.
However, California retaliated. Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state would cease buying cars from the “Trumpist automakers.”
“Carmakers that have chosen to be on the wrong side of history,” Newsom tweeted, “will be on the losing end of CA’s buying power.” In the end, it has come down to a court battle with California versus the Trump administration.