Trump administration officials this week touted efforts to lower car prices by rolling back regulations and downplaying the importance of electric vehicles during an auto industry tour of the Midwest.
“In this administration, we are rolling back what I consider illegal and inaccessible for a fuel economy standard” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters at a Jeep factory in Ohio on Friday, the Detroit News reported.
Duffy was referring to ambitious vehicle emissions regulations put in place under the Biden administration.
Duffy added: “Thirty-five miles per gallon for this new fuel economy standard…which I think will bring prices down and allow automakers to offer products that Americans want to buy.”
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION UNVEILS NEW INITIATIVE TO REVERSE FEDERAL REGULATIONS
Ford Motor Bronco SUVs are on display this week at the Detroit Auto Show media day in Detroit. (Reuters/Rebecca Cook/Reuters)
Duffy, accompanied by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Director Lee Zeldin and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, visited the annual Detroit Auto Show to conclude their two-day tour of the Midwest on Saturday.
Zeldin said the government “should not force, demand, dictate that the market go in any direction other than that demanded by the American consumer” months after President Donald Trump signed a law last year eliminating a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles and canceled California’s electric vehicle rules.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he doesn’t want the government to dictate the type of cars built in the United States. (Reuters/Brian Snyder/Reuters)
The legislation also canceled penalties implemented by the Biden administration for automakers failing to meet fuel efficiency standards.
“I don’t want the government to dictate what kind of cars we build,” Duffy said Friday. “I want the freedom to innovate and I want consumer demands to determine the types of cars produced.
Duffy added: “This is not a war on electric vehicles at all. There are a lot of people who love them and think they are wonderful and work for them, and they should be able to buy them. It’s just that we shouldn’t use government policy to encourage purchases of electric vehicles, while penalizing the combustion engine, which most Americans want to buy.”
A Chevrolet Bolt EV is on display at a 2016 Detroit auto show. (Reuters/Mark Blinch / Reuters)
U.S. vehicle sales rose 2.4% despite high tariffs on imported vehicles, with the average price of new cars hitting a record $50,326.
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This occurred as American consumers purchased more expensive SUVs and trucks while sellers offered fewer economical options, according to research firm Cox Automotive.
“Whatever effects these tariffs may have on different parts of the supply chain, they don’t really trickle down to the consumer,” Greer said.
Reuters contributed to this report.