U.S. Trump Administration Abolishes Ground for Automobile Emission Regulations 'Aimed at EV Direct Strike'

*This content was translated by AI.

The Trump administration decided this week to officially abolish Endangerment Finding, a key scientific basis that has supported the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulations on greenhouse gas emissions, signaling a huge impact on the entire automobile industry.

The decision directly reverses the scientific conclusion that "six major greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and welfare" established during the Obama administration in 2009. It is a measure that effectively neutralizes the EPA's legal authority to establish and enforce automobile emissions standards under Article 202(a) of the Clean Air Act.

This measure eliminates the obligation of automakers to measure or report greenhouse gas emissions in vehicle production, which must be carried out during the manufacturing process. In addition, there is no need to comply with or obtain certification of emission standards set by the government. In fact, an environment where "unlimited pollution" is possible has been created.

President Trump argues that the removal of the regulations will save excessive regulatory costs of more than $1 trillion (about 1,300 trillion won) in total, and will have an economic effect of lowering the average price per new car by about $2,400 (about 3.2 million won).

Democrats and environmental groups, on the other hand, strongly criticize the move as a huge preferential treatment for the fossil fuel industry, which Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer slammed as a "corrupt gift for giant oil capital and a reckless decision that will have a devastating impact across the United States."

Tesla, a leader in the electric vehicle industry, is also perplexed by the deregulation, which it wrote to the Trump administration in September last year, asking it to maintain, saying, "The risk determination and emission standards have served as a stable regulatory platform for Tesla's large-scale investment."

Despite Tesla CEO Elon Musk's huge donation of more than $250 million to win Trump, concerns about future market changes are growing even within the industry as a strong deregulation centered on internal combustion engines, which could be disadvantageous to his business base, the electric vehicle market.

Industry experts warn that the move will undermine the integrated regulatory environment in the North American auto market, deprive consumers of choice, and negatively affect human health and the climate crisis in the long run.

As a result, the abolition of EPA regulations is expected to be recorded as a symbolic event of the Trump administration's willingness to "revitalize the fossil fuel-oriented economy," and legal and political turmoil is expected to continue for a considerable period of time, with lawsuits from state governments and environmental groups trying to block it.

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*This content was translated by AI.