WASHINGTON – The Trump administration’s proposal to weaken fuel economy standards would raise Americans’ expenses and unnecessarily increase energy use, the Alliance to Save Energy said in comments submitted to the EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The Alliance urged the agencies to abandon the proposal.

“Let’s be honest about what this really means. Freezing our standards from 2021-2025, the Administration’s preferred option, means they’ve decided to give up,” said Alliance President Jason Hartke. “They’re giving up on progress and innovation. They’re giving up on being a global leader on fuel efficient vehicles and reducing harmful pollution. And sadly, they’re giving up on saving Americans millions and millions of dollars. If you drive a truck, this proposal would cost you $8,000 over the vehicle's lifetime.

This also throws out years of thoughtful, fair, and negotiated discussions among the key stakeholders – the federal government, the State of California, automakers, and others. Japan and Europe already have tighter standards in their markets today than we’d have in 2020. Not keeping pace means we choose to leave behind thousands of American workers, families, and businesses, for decades to come.”

The Alliance’s comments are in response to an August proposal from the EPA and NHTSA to roll back fuel economy standards that are in place for 2021-2026 model year light-duty vehicles. Those standards are the result of an extensive stakeholder dialogue.

In the comments, the Alliance said:

“We affirm that it is critical to establish fuel economy standards within the reasonable bounds of economic feasibility to maximize societal benefit. But the preferred solution in this proposal -- to freeze model year 2020 fuel economy standards through 2025 and withdraw the California Clean Air Act waiver – is unjustified and would significantly undermine one of the most impactful energy efficiency policies in U.S. history. It would cost American families thousands of dollars in added fuel expenses over the life of a vehicle, increase our dependence on volatile global oil markets, and potentially create a chaotic, fragmented vehicle market that would undermine long-term investment certainty, U.S. competitiveness, and job creation.”

For more information about fuel economy standards, view the Alliance’s factsheet.

About the Alliance to Save Energy

Founded in 1977, the Alliance to Save Energy is a nonprofit, bipartisan alliance of business, government, environmental and consumer leaders working to expand the economy while using less energy. Our mission is to promote energy productivity worldwide – including through energy efficiency – to achieve a stronger economy, a cleaner environment and greater energy security, affordability and reliability.