Transportation Sec Sean Duffy announces immediate review of CAFE standards: CEI analysis

CEI applauds U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy for directing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to commence an immediate review and reconsideration of all existing fuel economy standards for model years 2022 and later, and to “propose the rescission or replacement” of such standards as necessary to bring the CAFE program into compliance with President Trump’s E.O. 14154, “Unleashing American Energy,” and applicable law.

CEI Senior Fellow Marlo Lewis commented:

Secretary Duffy outlines a strong economic, consumer, legal, and national security case for rescinding the Biden administration’s aggressive CAFE standards for model years 2022 and beyond. Those standards:

• Increase the cost of new cars and trucks, potentially pricing many households and small businesses out of the new car market;
• Pressure automakers to phase out popular vehicle models, undermining consumer choice;
• Make US automakers less competitive, potentially destroying American auto worker jobs;
• Fail to meet the “economic practicability” requirement of the governing law;
• Potentially increase fatalities and serious injuries on America’s roadways by slowing down fleet turnover from older vehicles to new safer vehicles;
• Advance an agenda of vehicle electrification not authorized by Congress;
• Do not adequately reflect the nation’s declining need to conserve energy given America’s abundant liquid fuel resources; and,
• May not adequately account for grid reliability risks from forced vehicle electrification or the strategic risks from exacerbating US reliance on battery minerals sourced from China.

CEI looks forward to commenting on NHTSA’s review, reconsideration, and proposed rescission or replacement of the Biden administration CAFE standards.