Trump will reportedly ban the US government and military from purchasing electric cars

The next Trump The administration has more plans to delay electric vehicle adoption than in the United States Previously believed. according to Reuterswho has seen the transition team’s documents, Trump’s team wants to eliminate subsidies for electric vehicles, restore federal funding for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, block imports of electric vehicle batteries on national security grounds, and prevent the federal government and the U.S. military from purchasing more electric vehicles.

During the campaign, candidate Trump repeatedly referred to ending the supposed mandate for electric vehicles. In fact, policies laid out by President Joe Biden call for only 50% of all new vehicles to be electric by 2032 under US EPA rules. It aims to reduce emissions by 56 percent from 2026 levels.

Instead, the new system will be more fuel-guzzling, as it intends to roll back EPA fuel efficiency standards to those in place in 2019. This would increase the permissible level of emissions from cars by about 25% compared to the current norm. hiring. Efficiency of new American vehicles It stopped between 2008 and 2019Only once the Biden administration began in 2021 did the EPA begin setting stricter rules on permissible limits for carbon dioxide and other pollutants emitted by vehicle exhausts.

About a third of residents look to the California Air Resources Board, rather than the EPA, for their emissions regulations.

The so-called ZEV (Zero Emission Vehicle) states have something akin to an electric vehicle mandate, and a typical year of 2026 in these states (California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington) and the District of Columbia, A third of all new cars Cars sold by every automaker must be battery electric — assuming the EPA grants California a waiver to allow that to happen.

As happened with the first Trump administrationwe can expect a continued attack on California’s ability to set its own vehicle emissions regulations and any attempts by other states to use those rules.

More definitions

It is clear that trade tariffs will be a major weapon for the next Trump administration, especially when they are deployed to block the manufacture of electric vehicles. Even the current administration has been wary enough of China dumping cheap electric cars Established definitions of singing On Chinese-made electric vehicles and batteries, with Bipartisan support From Congress.

They were Biden’s definitions Justified for economic reasons As a means of defending US industry against China’s unfair level of government support towards its automakers. Trump’s team plans to use national security as justification for its own barriers to electric vehicle imports Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act.

But according to documents seen by Reuters, tariffs on battery materials will be applied globally, which would significantly increase the cost of a new electric vehicle. Reuters wrote that the transition team intends to allow individual countries to try to negotiate exemptions from customs duties.

No more tax credit, no more public chargers

While the Trump team’s plan is to boost the US auto industry in exchange for imports, the key tool to force more domestic electric vehicle production is also not long in coming for the world. As we thoughtHowever, the $7,500 clean car tax break will be eliminated once Trump takes office.

But according to Reuters, Trump’s transition team is also planning to recover as much of the money as possible $7.5 billion Allocated to charging infrastructure established by Congress as part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Much of this money has not been spentThis is due to the length of time involved. Instead of being disbursed directly by the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, the money was allocated across states, in the same way as highway funding. As such, there may be significant amounts of this program that will never be completed.

One of the Trump team’s ideas could speed up electric vehicle charger deployment, as the incoming administration intends to do away with required environmental reviews for projects like charging stations.

Other rules and regulations intended to protect the public are also set to be repealed, including rules that require all automakers to notify the government when one of their vehicles malfunctions while operating under partial automation, such as Tesla Autopilot. This standing order has caused great grief for Tesla after more than 1,500 crashes, with many injuries and deaths, and Tesla opposition to widely known requirements.

Finally, the US government fleet is expected to become more polluting. Currently, the federal government is required to purchase more electric vehicles as they replace older vehicles, with a requirement that all light-duty vehicles be zero-emission by 2027. This will not be the case under Trump, who will also end any Defense Department programs aimed at purchasing Or the development of electric military vehicles.

This story originally appeared on Ars Technica.