February 22, 2017, 10:13 / Auto / News

Automakers ask Trump administration for relief on environmental regulations - WSJ

Two Washington automaker lobbying groups have asked the regulator to reverse the Obama administration's decisions to tighten vehicle emissions and fuel economy standards. According to The Wall Street Journal , two such letters were sent on February 21 to the head of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, who was appointed a week ago. Automakers want to quickly take advantage of President Donald Trump's promises to weaken environmental regulations tightened by the previous administration, the newspaper writes. Recently, at a business breakfast at the White House, Ford Motor CEO Mark Fields directly asked Trump to ease regulation, she recalls.

A representative of the environmental agency said that it is currently reviewing correspondence with industrialists, and declined to comment further. Pruitt himself promised last week that the regulator should make it clear to the companies whose activities it controls what is expected of them, but did not disclose any details. In November, an adviser to Trump's team said his incoming administration would thoroughly review all new economic regulations, including emissions and fuel economy regulations. A week before Trump's inauguration, the agency decided to maintain previously established fuel economy targets that automakers must achieve by 2025.