Court blocks Trump administration delay to raise CAFE fines

A federal court in New York blocked the Trump administration’s effort to delay an increase in fines for violating emissions rules. The National Highway Traffic Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) last year suspended an Obama era regulation that would have raised fines in September 2018 for automakers violating emissions rules from $5.50 to $14.00 for every one-tenth of a gallon over the limit.

Automakers had said the increase could raise their joint compliance costs by $1 billion a year. Some OEMs, such as Jaguar/Land Rover and Daimler, had simply paid the fines rather than comply with the rule.

If NHTSA and EPA continued with their plan to weaken emissions rules (see previous article), then the court ruling would be irrelevant.  But if the emissions fight ends up in court, another court might decide against the administration’s plan.