WASHINGTON — The trucking industry is supporting steps by congress to roll back the Advanced Clean Trucks and Omnibus NOx waivers granted to California.
SEMA’s Three Letter Phrase Says it All
The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) used a succinct three letter expression of their support: “LFG.”
SEMA represents the automotive aftermarket industry, a third of which are businesses that are entirely dependent on products for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
“To enact an ICE engine ban through EV mandates would represent a significant hit to the nation’s economy by causing irreparable harm to an industry that annually delivers a $337 billion economic impact and supports more than 1.3 million American jobs through domestic manufacturing and sales,” SEMA said. “33% of the nation’s automotive aftermarket industry is ICE-dependent, representing over $100 billion in economic impact to the U.S. economy, and impacts roughly 330,000 jobs.”
SEMA noted that it is not anti-EV. Rather, it champions a technology-neutral approach that fosters innovation and ingenuity. The association will continue efforts to preserve Americans’ rights to vehicle choice and the automotive aftermarket industry’s ability to design, manufacture, and bring to market products that help solve the emissions challenge.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, SEMA, through its Driving Force Action SuperPAC, educated voters about the damaging impact of EV mandates, and the profound importance of empowering the automotive aftermarket to develop innovative solutions to carbon emissions using American ingenuity.
American Trucking Association
“The trucking industry commends our congressional champions for introducing these resolutions, which would take the regulatory keys away from unelected CARB bureaucrats whose mad dash to zero poses a grave threat to the supply chain and our economy,” said Chris Spear, American Trucking Associations (ATA) president, CEO. “The patchwork of unachievable EV mandates enabled by EPA’s waivers to California threatened to significantly raise costs for American consumers without delivering the promised environmental benefits.”
According to the ATA, trucks today produce 99% fewer nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions than those on the road decades ago, and new trucks cut carbon emissions by over 40 percent compared to a truck manufactured in 2010. As a result, 60 of today’s trucks emit what just one truck did in 1988.
“Thanks to the leadership of these lawmakers, Congress can restore EPA’s authority to set commonsense, achievable national standards that promote innovation and put us back on the path to lowering emissions while accounting for the operational realities of our essential industry,” Spear said. “We look forward to working with members of congress in both chambers to pass these resolutions expeditiously and send them to President Trump’s desk where they can be signed into law.
The measures of disapproval were introduced by Reps. John Joyce (R-Pennsylvania), John James (R-Michigan), Jay Obernolte (R-California), Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho), Doug LaMalfa (R-California), Kevin Kiley (R-California), and Lisa McClain (R-Michigan).
EPA Roll Back
In March, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it was reconsidering the Biden-Harris administration’s greenhouse emissions standards that are set to go into effect for model-year 2027 and later heavy-duty trucks. The agency is also reconsidering regulations for passenger vehicles and light- and medium-duty vehicles.
The announcement came in a March 12 press release from EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. In addition to imposing more than $700 billion in regulatory and compliance costs and making it difficult for Americans to buy safe, affordable cars, Zeldin said the standards would increase the overall cost of living.
The EPA is also reevaluating other parts of the Biden-Harris “Clean Trucks Plan,” including the 2022 Heavy-Duty Nitrous Oxide rule, which “results in significant costs that will make the products our trucks deliver, like food and other household goods, more expensive.”
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
