WATCH LIVE: Trump expected to roll back fuel economy standards

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is expected to announce a proposal Wednesday to weaken the auto industry’s mileage rules, easing regulatory pressure on automakers to control pollution from gasoline-powered cars and trucks, according to several people familiar with the White House plans.

Trump is expected to speak at 2:30 p.m. EST. Watch the live stream in our video player above.

The proposal would significantly reduce fuel economy requirements, which set rules on how far new vehicles must go on a gallon of gasoline, through 2031, according to a White House official and several people familiar with the plan. They were not allowed to discuss the matter publicly because the proposal had not been made public and they spoke on condition of anonymity. No other details were immediately available.

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The move would be the latest action by the Trump administration to reverse Biden-era policies that encouraged cleaner-running cars and trucks, including electric vehicles. Gasoline burning for vehicles is a major contributor to global warming greenhouse gas emissions. The Republican administration says the new rules will increase Americans’ access to the full range of gasoline vehicles they need and can afford.

Trump is scheduled to announce the plan at a White House event expected to include top executives from the three largest US automakers, who praised the planned changes. Since taking office in January, Trump has eased tailpipe emissions rules, eliminated fines for automakers that don’t meet federal mileage standards, and ended consumer credits of up to $7,500 to purchase electric vehicles.

Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement Wednesday that the planned rollback was a “victory for customers and common sense.”

“As America’s largest auto producer, we appreciate President Trump’s leadership in aligning fuel economy standards with market realities,” Farley said. “We can make real progress on carbon emissions and energy efficiency while continuing to give customers choice and affordability.”

Stellantis CEO Antonio Velosa said the automaker appreciated management’s actions to “realign” standards.

Environmentalists criticized the decision.

“At one fell swoop, Trump is exacerbating three of our country’s most troubling problems: oil thirst, rising gas pump costs, and global warming,” said Dan Baker, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Safe Climate Transportation campaign.

“Trump’s action will fuel America’s destructive use of oil, while holding us back in the green technology race against Chinese and other foreign automakers,” Baker said.

Trump has repeatedly pledged to end what he falsely calls the electric vehicle “mandate,” an incorrect reference to Democratic President Joe Biden’s goal for half of new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030. Electric vehicles accounted for about 8% of new vehicle sales in the United States in 2024, according to Cox Automotive.

No federal policy has required auto companies to sell electric vehicles, although California and other states have imposed rules requiring all new passenger cars sold in the state to be zero emissions by 2035. Trump and Republicans in Congress blocked the California law earlier this year.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy urged his agency to reverse current fuel economy requirements, known as corporate average fuel economy, shortly after he took office. In June, he said the standards set under Biden were illegal because they included the use of electric cars in their calculations. Electric vehicles do not run on gasoline. After reviewing the rules in June, NHTSA was authorized to update the requirements.

Under Biden, automakers were required to average about 50 miles (81 kilometers) per gallon of gas for passenger cars by 2031, compared with about 39 miles (63 kilometers) per gallon today.

The Biden administration also increased fuel economy requirements by 2% annually for light-duty vehicles in each model year from 2027 to 2031, and 2% annually for SUVs and other light trucks from 2029 to 2031. At the same time, it called for strict rules on vehicle exhaust aimed at encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles.

The auto industry has complained that it is difficult to comply with Biden-era rules.

Mileage rules have been in place since the energy crisis of the 1970s, and over time, carmakers have gradually increased the average efficiency of their cars.

St. John reported from Detroit. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.