Pulling the Plug on EV Mandates

The Wall Street Journal reports Trump Can Pull the Plug on EV Mandates

Overly stringent emissions targets ignore American consumers' preferences and block economic growth. They're also restrictive, costly and unachievable for U.S. manufacturers based on current market trends.

The Environmental Protection Agency's electric-vehicle mandate also must go. The mandate would effectively require automakers to shift at least 54% of production to EVs and 16% hybrids to meet the 2032 requirements, an unrealistic target.

The Trump administration also should rein in California's regulatory excesses. The Biden EPA last week greenlighted California's aggressive electric-vehicle mandate by granting the state a waiver allowing it to set stricter environmental regulations than the federal government's. The Trump administration should move immediately to revoke this waiver, an action likely to be challenged in court.

This matters for Americans across the U.S. That's because other states are allowed to adopt California's climate policies and impose those regulations on residents. New York, Maryland and Virginia are among several states that have adopted California's zero-emission mandate.

We need a course correction. America doesn't have access to the volume of critical minerals needed to produce that many EV batteries. It also doesn't have the necessary electricity generation capacity or charging infrastructure.

America can and should lead the world in automotive innovation, but domestic automakers won't survive if California-style, zero-emission vehicle mandates become the rules of the road.

The author of the above post is  Andrew Wheeler.

He served as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, 2018-21 and is currently a partner and head of federal affairs at Holland & Hart.