AFPM: Final CAFE rule puts program back on solid legal footing, but cost-savings would be undercut by fuel export bans

WASHINGTON, D.C. - American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) President and CEO Chet Thompson issued the following statement on the Trump administration's release of a final rule for revised 2027-2031 Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards (CAFE):

"Previous administrations attempted to use CAFE standards as a backdoor to unlawfully force electric vehicle adoption. Thanks to the Trump administration, that ends today. The CAFE program is now getting back to what the law actually says, doing what it was always meant to do: support a more efficient vehicle fleet where consumers have access to the types of cars and trucks they want to drive and can afford.

"We thank the Trump administration for its hard work on this issue, but we caution them that the cost-savings for consumers and progress represented by this rule - and the broader Trump energy dominance agenda - could be severely and irreparably undercut if the federal government chooses to restrict fuel exports."
- Chet Thompson, AFPM President and CEO

Under the Biden administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) acted unlawfully by including EVs and assuming unrealistic levels of EV adoption in its CAFE Standard baseline. A fleet of internal combustion engine vehicles could not achieve the 2027-2031 CAFE standards finalized in June of 2024. Compliance would have required an unrealistic level of electric vehicle adoption, far outpacing consumers and the market.

NHTSA under President Trump issued an interpretive rule in the summer of 2025 reaffirming that the EPCA expressly states NHTSA "may not consider" the fuel economy of electric vehicles or "dual-fueled vehicles" operating on electricity when setting fuel-economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks (see 49 U.S. Code § 39202). The revised standards finalized today are in line with this interpretive rule and are necessary to ensure lawful CAFE standards.