The United States will relax rules limiting pollution emitted by vehicles.

In a major turning point for the American auto industry, it appears that Joe Biden’s presidency is recalibrating its environmental strategy, according to revelations from the New York Times. Indeed, faced with pressure from auto manufacturers and unions, the Biden administration is considering relaxing the drastic rules initially planned by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These restrictive regulations would have forced car manufacturers to make electric vehicles (EV) the heart of their production by 2032.

The challenge of converting to electric lies not only in reducing the costs associated with these technologies but also in the establishment of an extensive charging infrastructure throughout the United States. Manufacturers argue that they need more time to achieve this, a message which appears to have been heard by the administration.

In parallel, union issues also weigh in the balance. Labor leaders have used their influence on Biden to extend the deadlines, hoping to expand union membership at new EV factories. This union support is considered essential for Biden, particularly as a tense election period approaches, marked by an alarming climate crisis and criticism from former President Donald Trump.

The EPA’s initial ambition reflected a quantum leap for the sector: to ensure that EVs represent 67% of sales of new light vehicles and 46% of medium-duty sales by 2032. To put it into perspective, those numbers would represent a staggering increase from the 7.6 percent EV sales reported the year before by the Times. However, the achievement of these objectives seems compromised. On the one hand, EV sales have slowed, and on the other hand, the industry favors heavier electric models like large trucks and SUVs, whose current supply chain cannot support production at an affordable cost .

Against this backdrop, the Biden administration finds itself at a crossroads, seeking to balance global environmental imperatives with immediate economic and social realities. This turnaround, if confirmed, could mark a new stage in the American energy transition, a delicate maneuver oscillating between ecological ambition and economic pragmatism.