Healthy Food Delivery : Why Trump’s Federal Fuel Standard Cuts Could Make You Pay More for Gas

It’s not exactly a secret that gas prices are pretty high right now. Anyone who took a road trip this summer, commutes regularly or works in trucking can tell you that the simple act of driving a vehicle is currently very costly. And when gas prices are this high, one thing tends to dominate the minds of drivers everywhere: fuel efficiency.

Owning a vehicle that gets high miles per gallon is one of the simplest ways to get more out of your gas. Unfortunately, a recently announced rule may make it easier for auto companies to lower their fuel-efficiency standards and start producing vehicles that use more gas on average.

Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced a new rule that dramatically reduces the fuel-efficiency requirement for new vehicles. Let’s take a look at the new rule and how it will shape the next half-decade of car manufacturing.

What Are the New Fuel Standards?

Under the Biden administration, strict fuel efficiency rules were set that required automakers to meet a fleet-average fuel economy of 50.4 mpg. Trump’s new rule, dubbed the “Freedom Means Affordable Cars” initiative, slashes that requirement from 50.4 mpg all the way down to 34.9 mpg.

For those of us who are new to this kind of lingo, a “fleet-average fuel economy” means the combined performance of all vehicles produced by an automaker. So this rule doesn’t mean that every car a manufacturer makes has to hit that new 34.9 mpg— it just means they have to hit that mark as an average across all of the cars you sell.

Why the New Rule?

The Trump administration believes that the former standards set by the previous administration are too high and have forced automakers to produce vehicles that their customers do not want to buy.

“This rule restores integrity to the national fuel economy program, balancing vehicle affordability and energy conservation goals while improving safety on our roadways,” said NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison. “Newer cars are safer cars. By reducing vehicle prices, more American families will be able to afford newer vehicles, and sensible standards allow automakers more freedom to design and produce vehicles consumers actually want.”

Critics of the plan are skeptical that the changes are being made in good faith, as most of the savings gained from dropping fuel standards will go straight to the automakers. In theory, cars will be cheaper to produce, which is obviously good for the company that makes them.

But is it good for the consumer? Sure, these new standards might knock some money off your monthly car payments. But there’s a good chance you’ll have to put that savings directly into gas, with lower fuel efficiency naturally leading to more time and money spent at the gas pump.

Atid Kimelman with the Natural Resources Defense Council called the new rule a “get out of jail free” card for U.S. car companies.

“Fuel economy standards are supposed to improve fuel economy over time,” said Kimelman. “For Americans facing prolonged high prices at the pump, the administration has made the stunning move to basically force them to pay more.”

When Will Fuel Standards Actually Drop?

These fuel regulations are set for 2031, so it will be a while before consumers actually see any change in auto prices related to these new rules. It will likely have a noticeable impact on the number of electric vehicles that U.S. automakers develop and produce in the near future. Part of the new rules is eliminating the “CAFE credit trading program” which allowed automakers to sell or trade credits earned when their lineups exceeded fuel economy targets to other manufacturers that didn’t meet the CAFE requirements.

That trading program will now be gone by 2028. That means that electric vehicle companies like Tesla, which were able to sell credits to other automakers and use that revenue to develop their own vehicles. Removing that revenue stream will certainly impact the number of electric vehicles developed and produced in the United States— which is the ultimate goal of the current administration.

“Eliminating the credit trading program restores fairness, puts all automakers on an even playing field, and ensures that manufacturers are spreading fuel-saving technologies throughout their fleets,” reads the White House’s official statement.

For now, the average American is not going to feel the impact of this new rule. Just don’t be surprised if the next time you go to shop for a car, you find yourself looking at some low fuel efficiency numbers and a lack of electric options.