It does this by eliminating “state emissions exemptions that are intended to limit sales of gasoline-powered automobiles.” That means bad news for California and the 17 other states that follow the California Air Resources Board’s zero-emission vehicle regulations. California obtained waivers under the Clean Air Act to establish emissions controls within its borders, but the first Trump administration spent significant time and energy fighting the CARB waiver.
Previous moves to block the CARB waiver were partially successful and only reversed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency just over a month ago.
The revised Clean Vehicle Tax Credit, which provides up to $7,500 of credit for the purchase of a new EV, or up to $4,000 for the purchase of a used EV, also appears to be in trouble. The decree also denounces “unfair subsidies and other poorly designed market distortions imposed by the government that favor electric vehicles over other technologies and effectively force their purchase by individuals, private companies and government entities by making d ‘other types of unaffordable vehicles’. However, because the Clean Vehicle Tax Credit is part of the tax code, any changes to it will require Congress to pass a law to that effect.
Predictably, environmental groups are not impressed. “The transition to electric vehicles is opening factories and putting people back to work across the country,” said Katherine García, director of the Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All campaign. “Instead of building on the progress we’ve made, Donald Trump remains determined to sow fear around electric vehicles and drag the United States back while the rest of the world moves forward on automotive innovation. Abandoning vehicle emissions protection measures harms our health,” he added. our wallets and our climate.
