(The Center Square) – As Illinois policymakers push electric vehicle usage in the state, the Biden administration’s restrictions on the vehicle fuel economy may be set for an overhaul by the Trump administration.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy ordered an immediate review and reconsideration of all Biden-era fuel standards. In a memo, Duffy directed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to reconsider the 2022 model year through 2031 model years.
Marlo Lewis with the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) says the all-pain-and-no-gain restrictions on the vehicle fuel economy are history.
“It’s all going away and now I think we have the prospect of much milder standards going forward that really will allow the consumer to dictate the evolution of the auto market in the United States,” said Lewis.
Lewis said the Biden-era standards didn’t reflect the nation’s declining need to conserve energy given the country’s abundant liquid fuel resources, and did not adequately account for grid reliability risks from forced vehicle electrification.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order that scales back the EPA’s emission rules that currently push automakers to sell more zero- and low-emission vehicles.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency recently announced another round of funding for an electric vehicle rebate program, while the landscape continues to change after a new administration moved into the White House. The General Assembly appropriated up to $14 million to the Illinois EPA for the EV rebate program for the current fiscal year.
Lewis said the latest move by the Trump administration is an important step toward pro-consumer policies.
“The only thing that is going to cause big changes is truly something that is the next big thing, that everybody wants if they can afford it,” said Lewis. “That’s the free market system at work and that is what we need to get back to.”
