Obama-era fuel standards are targeted

WASHINGTON — President Trump directed the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday to shelve aggressive vehicle fuel economy targets that have been a foundation for battles against climate change and harmful pollution in California and across the country.

The move attacks one of the Obama administration’s signature achievements and dims the future of electric vehicles, which the mileage rules have pushed the auto industry toward.

The regulations to be reviewed — finalized in the waning days of Barack Obama’s presidency — had set ambitious targets for vehicle mileage in an effort to encourage automakers to develop and market new technologies that reduce fuel consumption.

Trump said Wednesday that “common-sense changes” were needed.

“We are going to ensure that any regulations we have protect and defend your jobs,” Trump announced at a vehicle testing facility outside Detroit. “We’re going to be fair.”

The decision puts the White House on a path toward a direct and costly confrontation with California. State officials, pointing to California’s unique authority under the Clean Air Act, have made clear they will not waver from requiring passenger cars to average about 54 miles per gallon by 2025, up from an average of 36 miles per gallon today.

Trump’s announcement comes amid a lobbying blitz from a coalition of the world’s largest vehicle makers, which complained that the existing EPA rules place unreasonable and expensive demands on the industry. The appetite for nextgeneration vehicles has waned amid plunging gas prices, and automakers are increasingly turning to small sport utility vehicles to drive profits.