Court Overturns Trump Administration Ruling To Roll Back Fuel Economy Penalties
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Automakers whose vehicles exceed federal fuel economy standards will now face steeper penalties after a U.S. court of appeals overturned a Trump administration ruling that sought to reduce the fines.
As reported by Reuters, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration did not make a decision to reconsider the new, steeper fuel economy penalties in time and has thus overturned the Trump Administration’s July 2019 rule.
The Trump Administration had previously sought to suspend an Obama-era regulation that saw fines go from $5.50 to $14 for every 0.1 mile per gallon of fuel that an automaker’s vehicles consume in excess of the required average. The hike was put in place after environmental groups complained that such fuel economy fines had increased only once (from $5 to $5.50 in 1997) in the 40 years since they had been implemented.
The new amount brought the fines closer to being in line with the inflation rate, but automakers said the revised amount would contribute to increased operating costs, as the fines would also mean electric vehicle tax credits would cost more. An industry advocacy group said the change could increase regulatory costs for some companies by as much as $1 billion.
Automakers who do not meet the minimum amount of EV sales required by law purchase the regulatory EV credits from companies like Tesla to avoid being fined. Tesla made more than $400 million last year selling EV tax credits to automakers like Fiat Chrysler, Jaguar Land Rover and General Motors, too. GM said previously that it does “not need credits for compliance today, but purchasing credits is permitted under the regulations and is used as an insurance policy against future regulatory uncertainties.”
While the Trump Administration had sought to undo the Obama-era regulation that raised the fines, this week’s ruling will prevent it from doing so. A senior attorney involved in the case told Reuters that this ruling proves the administration “cannot give away polluting passes to automakers who lag behind on meeting standards required by law.”
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The penalties were increased because of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act. The increase during the Obama administration was in order to comply with the law and the delay by the subsequent administration was twice struck down in court.
More tax’s from the middle class!
Absolutely ridiculous. Another blatant overreach by our judicial system. These courts have become so entrenched with activists, from both parties, that we don’t have checks and balances anymore, because the power has tipped so heavily in the court’s favor. Not even remotely balanced. More unelected ideologues who think they run the country.
Guess who will end up paying for this? (Hint – it’s not the auto companies).
We do have checks and balances, which is how and why this was overturned. Checks and balances doesn’t just mean that the president gets to do whatever the hell he wants to do.
A president is elected by the people. Federal judges are not. If the people disapprove of what the president is doing, they remove him after 4 years. Judges are unelected with lifetime tenure.
This is absolutely not balanced. At all.
Judges are appointed and approved by the “elected”, so in a round about way the people have spoken.
It’s not as direct, and with life tenure, it’s not NEARLY as accountable. In fact, there’s no accountability at all. It’s activism and overreach at it’s worst, plain and simple.
Also goes to show how pathetic our Congress has become, where they get nothing done and subcontract all their work out to the president and courts.
Bullsh#t, not while the country is divided. Which side of the people are you talking about the left or the right?
This is stupid.. headache and a half.
If Ford can voluntarily comply with the Obama regulatkions, selling hybrids and soon the Mustang Mach-E electric, then why can’take GM do the same? If GM kept the Chevy Volt and promoted it more with the Bolt EV, they would sell enough to avoid buying carbon credits.
Hello yet more prices increases across the board for this nonsense and higher taxes.
this gives trump more more talking points about how the courts are not for the working person and he needs to be reelected so he can put more conservatives on the courts.
Let’s leave some clean air to our kids, grandkids and great grandkids.
Better talk to Mary B and the globalist cabal who are complicit with bypassing any and all hard won US environmental protections (and fair labor laws) whenever possible as they continually seek the next neediest Third World country with the lowest slave labor production costs and zero environmental regulations to fleece us with – fastracking a level of global environmental destruction far outweighing the perceived benefits of endless petty, draconian and expensive to the US consumer domestic regulatory cinching. They have the nerve to call this “environmentalism”! Utter crap and the rabid throngs of self hating Obama hugging Bolsheviks can’t swallow enough of it.
One earth; one environment. Let Greta rightfully harp on the Third World cheaters and globalist phonies (including her own good buddy Barack) who embrace her and whose globalist policies have contributed dramatically to climate change. Their endless regressive US domestic regulations only assure fewer Americans can afford to own cars while the rest of the world enriched by US wealth and investment are buying them in record numbers. What a total joke. It’s time to see the big picture.
MAGA 2020!
Well at least you got your name right.
Choke on it, brainiac
Its always about the money, who pays, we do,
And for what? Where do these fines really go? Didn’t think you really knew! The auto manufacturers work to be competitive with each other, the govt and the courts need to stay out of it, but never will, let them work to clean up their cities