New Delhi: US President Donald Trump Monday revoked the electric vehicle (EV) mandate of his predecessor Joe Biden which would have ensured that half of all new vehicles sold in the country by 2030 were electric.
At his inaugural address at the Capitol’s Rotunda, Trump declared, “With my actions today, we will end the Green New Deal, and we will revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry and keeping my sacred pledge to our great American autoworkers.”
“In other words, you’ll be able to buy the car of your choice,” he added.
Biden’s 2030 target was set in order to tackle climate change, but was opposed by American consumers. Before taking office, Trump had promised to repeal Biden’s environmental protections and support American car makers of petrol-powered vehicles.
“I will end the electric vehicle mandate on day one,” Trump had said in his address at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, saying this would “rescue” the US auto industry from complete obliteration and save customers thousands of dollars per car.
During his inaugural address, Trump added, “We will build automobiles in America again at a rate that nobody could have dreamt possible just a few years ago. And thank you to the autoworkers of our nation for your inspiring vote of confidence. We did tremendously with their vote.”
An order posted on the White House website stated this move would “promote true consumer choice, which is essential for economic growth and innovation”.
This would come, the notice said, “by removing regulatory barriers to motor vehicle access; by ensuring a level regulatory playing field for consumer choice in vehicles; by terminating, where appropriate, state emissions waivers that function to limit sales of gasoline-powered automobiles; and by considering the elimination of unfair subsidies and other ill-conceived government-imposed market distortions that favor EVs over other technologies and effectively mandate their purchase by individuals, private businesses, and government entities alike by rendering other types of vehicles unaffordable….”
The order said it was the policy of the US “to safeguard the American people’s freedom to choose from a variety of goods”.
The order added that while America was blessed with an abundance of energy and natural resources, in recent years “burdensome and ideologically motivated” regulations have impeded the development of these resources, limited the generation of reliable and affordable electricity, reduced job creation, and inflicted high energy costs upon citizens.
“These high energy costs devastate American consumers by driving up the cost of transportation, heating, utilities, farming, and manufacturing, while weakening our national security,” the order said, adding that it was in national interest to unleash America’s affordable and reliable energy and natural resources.
“This will restore American prosperity—including for those men and women who have been forgotten by our economy in recent years. It will also rebuild our Nation’s economic and military security, which will deliver peace through strength,” it read.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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