Carmakers join Trump against California’s emissions laws

A number of large carmakers have declared their support for the Trump administration in a lawsuit launched by an environmental organization aiming to allow California to set its own emissions rules.

Tom Krisher and Ellen Knickmeyer had the news for the AP:

General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota and many others in the auto industry are siding with the Trump administration in a lawsuit over whether California has the right to set its own greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy standards.

The three companies, plus a trade association called the Association of Global Automakers, said Monday they plan to intervene in a lawsuit filed by the Environmental Defense Fund against the administration, which is planning to roll back national pollution and gas mileage standards enacted under the Obama administration.

In the past, most of the industry had taken the stance that it wanted one standard, and it preferred that California and the Trump administration work out differences to develop it. Negotiations haven’t gone anywhere, and in September, President Donald Trump announced his administration would seek to revoke California’s congressionally granted authority to set standards that are stricter than those issued by federal regulators.

The automakers decided to intervene in the lawsuit over the issue of California’s right to set standards. By intervening, the automakers changed their stance to siding with the Trump administration against the state. The automakers’ group, called the “Coalition for Sustainable Automotive Regulation,” also includes Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, Isuzu, Maserati, McLaren, Aston-Martin and Ferrari.

Reuters’ David Shepardson reported:

In their filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the automakers and the National Automobile Dealers Association said they backed the administration bid to bar individual emissions rules by states.

They asked to intervene, arguing the administration’s rule provided “vehicle manufacturers with the certainty that states cannot interfere with federal fuel economy standards.”

The decision to side with President Donald Trump could prompt a furious backlash from Democrats and environmentalists.

It also poses a risk for automakers if a Democrat wins the White House in next year’s election and reverses Trump’s actions, and also reinstates California’s right to set its own rules and tougher national emissions standards adopted by President Barack Obama.

A spokeswoman for California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the action “doesn’t change our resolve to fight as long and hard as necessary to protect our standards.”

She added, “The courts have upheld our authority to set standards before and we’re hopeful they will yet again.”

Kyle Hyatt noted for CNet:

This seems like a pretty risky move, especially considering that in addition to the group of automakers that have sided with California, 22 other states have decided to band with the Golden State and join it in its lawsuit against the EPA.

I say that move is risky because their decision could lead to negative publicity from Democrats as well as possible boycotts by consumers. Further, with what is likely to be a hotly contested presidential election on the horizon, it could place those automakers in a bad position if a new administration comes to power and decides to reverse Trump’s decree.

“Instead of choosing the responsible path forged by four automakers and the state of California, one that will move us toward the cleaner, alternative fuel vehicles of the future, these companies have chosen to head down a dead-end road,” Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware said in a statement.

This ordeal has already proven to be an extremely ugly fight, and given California’s massive resources and political power, it looks to only get uglier from here.