WASHINGTON _ Driving down costs for car buyers was a stated rationale of the Trump administration's decision last week to lower Obama-era fuel economy standards and challenge California's ability to set its own vehicle emission limits.
But as the White House advocates for fewer environmental mandates, it is still mulling new automobile tariffs that could add to the price of new cars and trucks, negating whatever savings consumers realize from relaxed fuel efficiency standards.
"I want to highlight the contradiction," said Jennifer Thomas, vice president for federal government affairs at the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. "Any savings that consumers might be seeing in the future as a result of their actions on fuel economy might be wiped out if we continue down the path we are currently on."
