# Four ways the Trump administration’s Clean Cars rollback would harm Americans

*Published:* 2018-07-31
*Author:* Martha Roberts

![](https://blogs.edf.org/climate411/wp-content/blogs.dir/7/files/2018/07/130206-F-YY717-014-1024x569.jpg)*U.S. Air Force photo/Don Branum*The Trump administration’s proposed rollback of America’s Clean Car Standards is bad news — for your pocketbook, climate security and clean air, auto sector jobs, and state leadership.

A [leaked draft](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/27/climate/andrew-wheeler-epa.html) of the administration’s proposal recommends gutting the existing Clean Car Standards — even though they’re already in place, delivering pollution reductions and saving Americans’ hard-earned money.

The draft recommends [flatlining the standards](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/0OB0Czpnz8cMwAXGSXrqWh?domain=bloomberg.com) at 2020 levels through 2026, and also includes an attack on states’ long-standing authority to enforce more protective clean car standards.

This proposed rollback is the wrong move for America. Here are four reasons why:

1. **Bigger gas bills in all fifty states**

A [new analysis](https://www.edf.org/sites/default/files/MJ_Bradley_Clean_Cars_rollback_report.pdf) by M.J. Bradley & Associates shows that this proposal would cost Americans in every state.

With this proposed rollback, an average family would spend $200 more per year, and could spend as much as $500 more every year if gas prices continue to rise.

Because the Clean Car Standards reduce pollution and spur fuel efficiency gains, they’re a win-win: cleaner air, lower gas bills. With the current Clean Car Standards in place, owners of model year 2025 cars would see net savings of *up to $5,000* over the lifetime of their cars compared to model year 2020 vehicles, and trucks owners could save *up to $8,000*.

The vast majority of families will start saving money as soon as they drive a car off the lot — and for all families, their savings continue as long as they own their vehicle.

2. **More pollution**

The dramatic rollback reportedly recommended by the Trump administration would increase climate-destabilizing pollution by over [two billion tons](https://blogs.edf.org/climate411/wp-content/blogs.dir/7/files/2018/04/MTE-Relaxation-Impacts-Final.pdf) – comparable to the all the climate pollution emitted from 480 million average American cars in a year.

Addressing pollution from the transportation sector is particularly crucial because it has become America’s largest contributor of climate pollution, and is also a significant source of harmful soot and smog-causing pollution.

The [American Lung Association](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/xTvQC1w9NocMB9r6SwSWHf?domain=lung.org) and twelve other public health organizations have all underscored the importance of maintaining protective clean car standards.

3. **American jobs and innovation at risk**

Strong clean car standards are a key part of a healthy American auto industry because they [foster the deployment of innovative solutions](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/MuwXCOYZDvhpZyDNIR_iTS?domain=theicct.org).

Over the past several years, automakers have brought lower polluting, more efficient cars and trucks to market with [record sales and strong profitability](https://blogs.edf.org/climate411/2016/12/19/5-things-you-should-know-about-americas-clean-car-standards/).

The [United Automobile Workers](https://blogs.edf.org/climate411/wp-content/blogs.dir/7/files/2017/03/UAW-proposed-determination.pdf) has noted that their members “know firsthand” that these standards “have spurred investments in new products that employ tens of thousands of our members.”

[UAW President Dennis Williams](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/t_S6CQWOGxCklynXHVRtmA?domain=uaw.org) recently stated that he did not support the administration’s efforts to rollback these standards:

“We had an agreement … I don’t think that we ought to be rolling back the standards. I think we ought to use some common sense here.”

[Honda has urged](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/u2tOCG69rkc1OQrBf1VAwh?domain=washingtonpost.com) that any changes to the program be made “without a reduction in overall stringency.”

[Ford said](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/07/26/trump-epa-freeze-obama-era-fuel-standards-cars-light-trucks/840816002/):

“We support increasing clean car standards through 2025 and are not asking for a rollback.”

Other countries – including China, the world’s largest new vehicle market — are pushing toward a [zero-emissions future](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/OpMRCXDMlGFXDzl4Tg8XN9?domain=nytimes.com). U.S. automakers can’t afford to fall behind.

4. **State leadership under attack**

The proposed rule [takes aim at long-standing state authority](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/27/climate/andrew-wheeler-epa.html) to enforce tougher standards than those implemented at the federal level.

Over the last half century, state leadership has played a key role in spurring the development and deployment of clean car solutions like smog-fighting catalytic converters.

Under long-standing provisions in the Clean Air Act, California has authority to set its own vehicle pollution standards, and other states are authorized to adopt these standards. Today more than a third of U.S. new car sales are covered by the coalition of states that have committed to protective clean car standards: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, and Vermont.

Automaker [public comments](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/qZ-ICERPpgh30NwlUQK7nP?domain=medium.com) recognize this history and have committed to working with California to build a path forward.

Yet the proposed rule would attack and stifle these successful state-led programs.

**Time for a U-turn on this harmful proposal**

Tell the Trump administration: we should be strengthening our clean car standards, not hitting the brakes.