Two members of the Trump administration will try to reach agreement with California on a unified fuel standard.

Automakers cheer on Calif. reconciliation try

WASHINGTON — Addressing a key concern for manufacturers, President Donald Trump instructed his administration to explore negotiations with California on achieving a single fuel economy standard.

The president met Friday with top auto executives to discuss the standards and tasked Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt to handle the talks with California officials, according to two people briefed on the meeting. The people spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the private discussions.

The auto industry wants to relax the federal fuel economy standards, but not so much that they provoke a legal fight with California, which has power to impose its own stricter tailpipe pollution limits. Such a fight could create two different mileage standards in the U.S., forcing automakers to engineer and produce two versions of each of their vehicle models and driving up costs.

A Trump administration official said the two agencies have had meetings and discussions with California officials on the issue for several months.

Two auto industry trade groups confirmed in a statement that Trump was willing to talk with California, but they provided no specifics. The Alliance for Automotive Manufacturers and Global Automakers said it appreciated Trump’s “openness to a discussion with California on an expedited basis.”

During the meeting, one executive brought up how it would be better for the industry to have one standard instead of two, and Trump instructed Pruitt and Chao to go to California for talks, the people said.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the president and the automakers discussed “how best to move forward” on the fuel economy standards.

If California splits from the federal rule under consideration by the Trump administration, it probably would be joined by 12 states that follow its standards. Together they make up about 40 percent of U.S. new-vehicle sales.

Evan Vucci The Associated Press Ford CEO James Hackett listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting Friday with automotive executives in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.