Trump’s EV executive prescriptions: how the electric vehicle industry can overcome the president’s attacks

While the first week of President Donald Trump’s power is coming to an end, his greatest achievements are things that many of us were planning: chaos and confusion.

Some of the many executive decrees that the president signed threaten democracy and others endanger the planet. But others simply approve hypothetical policies with more spectacle than necessary, such as printing tweets on paper, signing them with a black Sharpie and holding them so that the world can see it.

The challenge there, of course, is that only legal researchers know at first glance, which of Trump’s decrees will affect politics – and which will remain stuck in court for the years to come. Nevertheless, the pieces of paper scare and confuse people. And this confusion will drag, now real progress for a significant time. Trump’s first assault on the fictional electric vehicle “mandate” is a perfect example of this strategy.

A few hours after taking an official oath, Trump signed a decree with the film title “Unleashing American Energy”. In this document, he describes several new policies to, as the title suggests, “unleash energy and affordable and reliable natural resources from America”. This is the code to: promote fossil fuels and hinder the transition of renewable energies.

While Trump has targeted electric vehicles in several questionable ways during his first week, let’s focus on a specific thing in this decree: section 7, which is entitled “Finish the Green New Deal”. This section goes after programs that support the construction of the country’s EV load infrastructure. It specifically targets the formula program for the infrastructure infrastructure formula (Nevi) and the supply and supply infrastructure subsidy program (CFI), which has come out of one of the signature achievements of Former President Joe Biden, investment and infrastructure employment law 2021. Together, the two programs allocate $ 7.5 billion to develop the American load infrastructure. Trump wants to interrupt the disbursement of unassisted funds from these programs.

Trump said he was going to do it on the campaign track. He falsely said that billions of dollars have not been spent and that his administration “would redirect this money for important projects such as roads, bridges, dams and we do not allow expenditure for new ideas of green scam meaningless. ” It was therefore ironic when, after Trump published the decree which aimed at American infrastructure, the Federal Highway Administration, which built roads and bridges, stopped payments and stopped approving new projects by abundance of prudence .

The Trump administration, on his credit, published a memorandum a day later, adding that the executive decree was only applied to “funds supporting the” Green New Deal “. . In fact, although it is a popular concept, the Green New Deal is not real – it is not at all a law. Closing this concept is part of the last GOP party platform, which describes it as “socialist Green New Deal”.

Since Trump promised to freeze this funding of EV load infrastructure on the track, legal experts explained that he could not really close these programs. This would probably violate the 1974 law on the control of the impoundment, which prevents American presidents from blocking the expenses that have been affected by the Congress. President Trump also promised to repeal this law and give power to his executive power. But he would need the congress to do so.

Trump will also need the congress to close programs providing funding for EV load infrastructure. Meanwhile, 22 of the 25 Congress districts receiving federal funding for the manufacture of electric vehicles are represented by the Republicans. Thus, any real assault against the industry could face resistance to Capitol Hill, where the Republicans have narrow majorities both in the Chamber and in the Senate.

“These programs are legally anchored, widely supported and designed to resist political turbulence,” said Kathy Harris, director of clean vehicles, climate and energy at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Rhetoric is designed to make the headlines, but reality is more complicated.”

It’s theater, and it’s not new for Trump.

That said, the fact that Trump decided to attack electric vehicles as one of his first acts in power deserves some concern. He effectively sets the tone for his presidency, and this tone is decidedly hostile to the environment.

In addition to freezing funding for EV load infrastructure, Trump canceled a decree by President Biden which called half of all the new vehicles sold to electricity by 2030. Trump also plans to make the rules of The EPA published last year which implement stricter exhaust pipes in an effort to combat climate change. Trump also wants to put an end to EV grants and incentives, including the $ 7,500 tax credit for people who buy new electric vehicles. His executive orders, so far, do nothing of these things.

The automotive industry, to its credit, does not seem to be too dropped by all this.

While some companies made some plans go back before Trump’s victory – Ford notably canceled an electric SUV with three rows last August – there is no doubt that when it comes to transport, the future will be electrified. It would be stupid to bet on fossil fuels at this stage. According to Harris, “the American automotive industry is not in a bubble, and the global automotive industry is heading for these cleaner vehicles.”

Trump lets a fairly large opening here. By directing with the ban on EV chargers, it does not directly target the American automotive industry. It almost seems that this decree is the line of applause, and it is waiting to assess the reaction of the public before linking the programs, such as tax credits, which have a direct impact on car manufacturers and buyers. And while he holds this order, the tweet signed so to speak, Trump leaves the real stakeholders to twist their caps in their hands, wondering once again if he can really do it.

It will take months, if not years, to find clarity here.