"The Trump administration has broken off talks with the California Air Resources Board over vehicle fuel-efficiency standards and is on track to roll back standards set by President Barack Obama, the White House said in a statement Thursday.

The breakdown sets up a potential clash over the state’s long-standing ability to set its own more stringent standards for tailpipe emissions and fuel efficiency, a power the courts have upheld for the past half-century. California and 19 other states have demanded the Trump administration abandon the rollback.

The administration has vowed to freeze fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks at 2020 levels, undoing a regulation Obama established to reduce oil imports, slash carbon dioxide emissions that cause climate change, improve public health and save consumers money without compromising safety. It argues that the Obama-era requirements would make vehicles more expensive and encourage people to stick with older, less-safe cars and trucks."

Steven Mufson and Brady Dennis report for the Washington Post February 21, 2019. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Trump Administration, Getting Set for a Major Rollback, Ends Clean Air Talks With California" (New York Times) [3]

"Kamala Harris: Trump Administration ‘Targeting’ California For Political Purposes" (The Hill) [4]