President Biden’s push for electric vehicles is reigniting a heated debate over consumer choice in the auto industry. While the President insists Americans can “buy any kind of car they want,” critics argue his administration’s new emissions standards will effectively limit options for those seeking gasoline-powered vehicles.
The controversy erupted after Biden’s Rose Garden speech, where he vowed to protect U.S. jobs and prevent China from controlling the EV and combustion engine markets.
“We’re never going to allow China to unfairly control the market for these cars, period,” he declared. Just last week, Biden implemented heavy duty tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, some as high as four times the current rates. These tariffs are designed to protect the U.S. auto industry from low-priced imports.
These tariffs were also addressed by Trump in the media stating that they will cause a “bloodbath” in the American car industry. The reason? Chinese automakers could have EVs assembled in plants in Mexico which would be exempt from those tariffs.
In addition, industry experts contend the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) stringent new tailpipe emissions rules, set to take effect in 2032, will drastically reduce the availability of new gasoline cars.
In a statement, President Biden said, “Three years ago, I set an ambitious target: that half of all new cars and trucks sold in 2030 would be zero-emission.” This statement can also be considered misleading and should be addressed. Fossil fuels are still needed to create EVs. Electric vehicles have other environmental impacts as well that make a zero-emission car almost impossible.
Geoff Moody of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers claims the regulations are “functionally a ban on sales of most new gas cars by 2032.”
Limiting Options or Expanding Them?
Moody argues the policy will “limit the availability of new gas cars and push the cost of remaining gasoline-powered vehicles out of reach for most Americans.” He cites EPA projections showing new internal-combustion engine car sales plummeting from 84% currently to below 30% in 2032.
“The whole point of the rule is to push American drivers toward electric vehicles by limiting their other options,” Moody asserts.The American Petroleum Institute’s Will Hupman echoes similar concerns, predicting the rules could effectively eliminate most new gas-powered vehicles in the future.
But the EPA pushes back, stating the standards actually “expand consumer choice” by encouraging more efficient vehicles. A spokesperson claims the rules will save Americans an average of $6,000 over the lifetime of a 2032 model year vehicle through reduced fuel and maintenance costs.
A Political Battleground
The debate has spilled over into the political arena, with Republican lawmakers leading efforts to block the new emissions rules.
Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) has launched a Congressional Review Act bid to invalidate the regulations, accusing Biden of “political-showboating” with his consumer choice comments.
“Now that he’s facing backlash, Biden is trying to walk back his irresponsible EV mandates that drive American jobs and our auto-manufacturing overseas,” Marshall stated. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) went further, alleging the President is “being dishonest” or unaware of the administration’s efforts to “regulate combustion engines out of existence.
“As the battle lines are drawn, the future of America’s auto industry hangs in the balance, with consumer choice at the heart of the contentious debate.
