Talks Break Down Between California, U.S. on Car Mileage, Sources Say
(Bloomberg) -- Talks between California and federal officials on vehicle emissions and fuel economy standards have broken down without a deal, three people familiar with the matter said.
The Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had been meeting with California's Air Resources Board in pursuit of a compromise as the federal agencies aim to finalize by late March or early April a replacement for Obama-era fuel efficiency regulations that automakers are seeking to modify.
The breakdown in talks adds to tension between Washington and Sacramento, which has emerged as a major antagonist to the Trump administration. California is leading a group of more than a dozen states in a lawsuit to block Trump from diverting funds from the federal budget to pay for his promised border wall, saying the move exceeds the power of his office.
No further discussions are scheduled over the critical auto industry rules, said the people, who asked to not be identified discussing the private talks. Representatives of the EPA didn't respond to an emailed request seeking comment. NHTSA representatives didn't immediately comment.
Earlier: California, EPA Trade Barbs on Fuel Efficiency as Deadline Looms
In a statement, CARB acknowledged the impasse and said federal officials ended communications about the rules late last year.
“The administration broke off communications before Christmas and never responded to our suggested areas of compromise -- or offered any compromise proposal at all,” CARB spokesman Stanley Young said in an email. “We concluded at that point that they were never serious about negotiating, and their public comments about California since then seem to underscore that point.”
EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler briefly meet with CARB Chairman Mary Nichols earlier this month when the two appeared at the BloombergNEF Summit San Francisco, and both made clear in public statements that they remained far apart on the rules.
In an interview with Bloomberg Television on Feb. 4, Wheeler dismissed a counter-offer by California to extend the timeline of the existing requirements because it would not lower vehicle prices and improve road safety enough, goals the Trump administration has used to justify its proposal.
August Proposal
The federal agencies released in August a proposal that recommended capping mileage requirements at a 37 miles per gallon fleet-average after 2020, instead of rising to about 47 mpg under rules adopted by the Obama administration. It also recommended revoking California's cherished authority to set tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions standards for new autos.
The federal regulators are considering a final rule that would require marginal fuel efficiency improvements after 2020, rather than halting gains after 2020 as recommended in the August proposal, another person familiar with the matter said.
Automakers have urged the Trump administration to broker a compromise with California to maintain nationwide uniformity in fuel economy requirements. Roughly a dozen other U.S. states adhere to California's vehicle emissions standards, a bloc that represents more than a third of U.S. auto sales.
--With assistance from Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Ari Natter.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ryan Beene in Washington at rbeene@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
-
It's Time To Take The GST Council's Bet On Trust Global
Payment records can prove India's services exports, and clear, proportionate rules can bring foreign digital sellers into the tax net.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
-
Indians Are Travelling, But Not Every Journey Is A Holiday | The Week In Whys
Pilgrims, patients and working women are the real travellers, and the system hasn't quite caught up with them.
-
Getting To Work Costs Women More | The Reason Why
It is not just about women paying more than men. It is about women paying much more in cities than in villages.
-
AI Bias In Investing Cannot Be Eliminated, But It Can Be Governed
Framing is a particularly important example as identical financial information presented in terms of gains rather than losses can lead an LLM to reach a different assessment.
-
Joining The Dots | Dark Skies, Steady Diya: Why Hope Holds This Diwali
With war, a weak rupee and foreign outflows weighing on sentiment, policymakers at the NDTV World Summit and market veterans at NDTV Profit Ignite: Diwali Edition offered the same advice: stay invested and filter out the noise.
-
The Curious Case of Equitas Small Finance Bank And A CEO Who Quit For Stock
PN Vasudevan believes persistent investor concerns over a perceived conflict of interest had become a governance overhang on Equitas Small Finance Bank's stock, even as the lender improved profitability and asset quality.
