Trump says he is rolling back Biden-era US fuel economy rules for cars — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Trump announced new fuel economy standards on Saturday via social media, pledging they would "TERMINATE" what he called Biden's "EV mandate" and lower car prices by "taking the waste out of building cars in America."
- The rollback targets CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards, established by Congress in 1975, which require automakers to meet average fuel economy targets across their full fleet of cars and light trucks.
- Biden's 2024 final rules had set the required fleetwide average to rise from 39.1 mpg to about 50.4 mpg by 2031, with the administration citing reduced fuel consumption, lower emissions, and consumer savings at the pump.
- Trump's December 2025 proposal would set the fleetwide average for light-duty vehicles at roughly 34.5 mpg by 2031 — more than 30% lower than the Biden-era target — though he provided no details on what the new announced standards would be.
- The article notes there are no federal guidelines or laws requiring Americans to buy EVs, characterizing the "EV mandate" framing as a Republican rhetorical label for higher fuel efficiency requirements.
- Auto manufacturers had ramped up EV production to help meet Biden's requirements, while the Republican-controlled Congress gutted consumer EV tax incentives last year as part of Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reposted Trump's announcement, writing that further details would be "COMING MONDAY."
Why it matters: The roughly 16 mpg gap between Biden's planned 50.4 mpg target and Trump's proposed 34.5 mpg by 2031 — more than a 30% reduction in required efficiency — widens the divide between US auto policy and global EV trends. Automakers who invested in EV production lines to meet Biden CAFE targets now face a regulatory pullback paired with the loss of EV consumer tax credits, reshaping their production calculus.
Ask SkimNews
