Trump tasks Pruitt, Chao to negotiate emissions standard with California: report

President Trump has reportedly tapped Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head Scott Pruitt to negotiate fuel economy standards with California.

Trump instructed his administration to sit down with California, which has maintained authority to set its own emissions rules, in order to explore achieving a single fuel economy standard for the nation, The Associated Press reports.

Such a move would prevent two different standards that would require car makers to make two models of cars.

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Automakers met with Trump on Friday to discuss a draft proposal that would reportedly keep fuel efficiency requirements at 2020 levels for the next five years.

The EPA’s draft proposal would require that a fleet of new cars average about 30 miles per gallon and the standards wouldn’t change until 2025, according to the AP.

The automakers at Friday’s meeting reportedly said they do not necessarily support freezing requirements but want flexibility with the standards.

Californian agreed to the standards set under the Obama administration, which would have would have risen fuel efficiency standards to 36 miles per gallon by 2025.

According to the AP, if California splits from the federal standards being considered by the Trump administration, 12 other states — or 40 percent of all new-vehicle sales —  would follow California’s standards.