Biden’s climate policies will kill affordable cars
President Biden’s leftist climate policies are cancerous to both the automotive industry and the economy. His administration’s excessive regulations, fueled by climate ideology, will gradually, then suddenly, kill affordable cars and damage the American car industry. By making new cars dramatically more expensive, used car prices will rise too, harming low-income Americans the most.
The tightening of EPA regulations and the unrealistic Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards are just the latest damaging effects of Bidenomics. Adding fuel to the fire, Biden’s recent tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) deceptively open the door for China to dominate our EV market, costing Americans more in the long run.
To start, the Department of Transportation under Biden has already proposed stringent CAFE standards, requiring vehicles to achieve an average of 49 miles per gallon (mpg) by mid-2025 and 58 mpg by 2032. This move is an industry and affordability killer. Car manufacturers will be forced to make hefty investments to meet these targets or resort to buying expensive mileage credits, inevitably passing on the costs to both new and used car buyers.
The Biden team is clearly out of touch with the needs of everyday Americans. The three most popular vehicles in the country are trucks, which fall far below the regulated mpg standard. The Ford F-series gets 13-25 mpg, the Chevy Silverado 12-27 mpg, and the Dodge Ram 12-26 mpg. Each of these trucks now costs thousands more due to Biden's regulations and billion-dollar subsidies to electric car makers. Imagine how many more Americans could afford these trucks if prices were $10,000 lower per vehicle. All gas-powered cars are more expensive because of these excessive regulations.
Moreover, Tesla received almost $1.8 billion in mpg credit transfer payments in 2022, with eligibility for up to $8 billion. These transfer payments make new gas cars more expensive while EVs benefit from $20,000 per car through this regulatory scam. Bidenomics makes everything more expensive, except EVs.
What’s worse, Biden’s most recent move not only hikes up prices even further, but also benefits our adversary. The administration just announced new tariffs on Chinese EVs, batteries, equipment and minerals, which makes it easier for automakers to subsidize EVs. Additionally, the Treasury's recent relaxation of battery mineral requirements for EV tax credits, especially for vital minerals like graphite sourced from China, plays directly into China's hands. With its monopoly on graphite, China benefits from these policies, solidifying its control over the EV market and burdening American consumers with higher costs.
Like cancer, Biden’s regulations are killing the host: American car manufacturers. Biden has not only given China the green light to set EV prices, but a forced increase in EV sales means fewer gas cars will be available to subsidize EV makers, resulting in higher EV prices. Moreover, the additional regulatory and transfer costs required for gas cars to comply with these unrealistic regulations will either hike their prices or result in heavy fines, further driving up costs.
If we do not intervene, the American car industry will die, along with the ability of low-income Americans to afford cars.
Our government should serve all citizens, promoting prosperity rather than imposing costly climate ideologies. Current policies, which are strongly opposed by Americans, drive up costs for energy, transportation, housing and food, disproportionately impacting the poor and middle class. The climate-driven regulatory onslaught, justified by an exaggerated fear of future climate catastrophes, is economically destructive. The cures are worse than the imagined disease.
Of course, there is no immediate climate emergency. Increased CO2 levels have actually enhanced global crop yields and promoted reforestation. Since just 2000, forests the size of France have regrown thanks to increases in CO2. NASA reports that more CO2 has significantly greened the planet, improving crop productivity and resilience.
Meanwhile, as China and India significantly increase their coal, oil and natural gas usage, our actions in the West have little impact on the future climate. Indeed, China and India are now breaking records since the end of COVID economic restrictions. With a combined population of 2.8 billion, including at least a billion people still underserved with energy, they are prioritizing their present and future prosperity over an unproven climate change doom.
Make no mistake, the Bidenomics endless climate driven regulations are making our energy, transportation, housing and food more expensive. Even if Biden's climate change theory holds true, which many qualified individuals doubt, we have plenty of decades to address it. Energy makes people’s lives better. The lack of affordable, abundant, reliable energy and transportation makes people’s lives worse.
Frank Lasee is president of Truth in Energy and Climate and a former Wisconsin state senator.