Trump moves to roll back US fuel-economy standards

US President Donald Trump’s administration will soon announce sharply lower vehicle fuel-economy standards, reversing a push by the prior administration to force carmakers to build more fuel-efficient vehicles, transportation secretary Sean Duffy said on Monday.

The federal government has not detailed the final standard, but carmakers expect it to be similar to a December proposal from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). That proposed a fleetwide average of 14.7km/ l by 2031, down from 21.4km/ l under former president Joe Biden.

“We are about to announce a common sense fuel-economy standard because we want Detroit to build cars that Americans want to buy, not cars that Democrats want Washington to build,” Duffy said at an appearance in Michigan.

Biden focused on reducing US greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel use, accelerating a transition to clean energy and making the US a global leader in clean energy technology and manufacturing.

In December the NHTSA proposed retroactively revising down the 2022 fuel economy standard and then raising it between 0.25% and 0.5% annually to the end of 2031. Biden increased required fuel efficiency for cars by 8% annually for model years 2024 and 2025, 10% for 2026 and 2% annually from 2027 to 2031.

Carmakers receive future compliance credits for achieving higher than required efficiency in previous model years, so the Trump administration’s retroactive change to 2022 will make it easier for the companies to meet future fuel standards.

Biden’s rules sought to prod carmakers to build more electric vehicles to meet the rising fuel-efficiency standards.

The NHTSA estimated its proposal would cut new vehicle costs by $930 each. But it would increase fuel consumption by about 378,541,178 l to the end of 2050, fuel spending by $185bn and carbon dioxide emissions by about 5%.

Congress decided in 2025 to no longer collect penalties for failure to meet vehicle fuel-economy standards , saving ​carmakers hundreds of millions, and ended $7,500 tax breaks for consumers who buy EVs. It also rescinded California’s authority to outlaw petrol-powered vehicles by 2035, a move the state is challenging.