The nation’s largest oil trade group, the American Petroleum Institute (API), along with the National Corn Growers Association and the American Farm Bureau Federation, have filed a federal lawsuit to block the Biden administration’s efforts to reduce emissions from cars and light trucks and encourage electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing.
The lawsuit comes in response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new tailpipe emission rules issued in March, which the API claims exceed the agency’s congressional authority. The rules will force automakers to produce and sell more electric vehicles, with the administration projecting up to 56% of all car sales will be electric between 2030 and 2032.
The oil industry argues that these regulations will eliminate most new gas cars and traditional hybrids from the U.S. market in less than a decade, which they say will harm American consumers, manufacturing workers, and the nation’s energy security.
The National Corn Growers Association and the American Farm Bureau Federation have joined the lawsuit as co-petitioners, as they rely on gas-powered cars to support the corn-ethanol industry. They claim the EPA has “ignored the proven benefits corn ethanol plays in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change.”
The lawsuit will be filed in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, and it comes amid a broader political battle over the transition to electric vehicles. Republican attorneys general from 25 states have already sued the EPA to block the same rules.
The Biden administration has made tackling climate change a key priority, and the new tailpipe emission rules are among the most significant environmental policies implemented under his presidency. However, the push for electric vehicles has complicated the president’s relationship with the United Auto Workers union, which has been slow to embrace the transition.
The road to the White House for both Biden and his Republican rival, Donald Trump, goes through industrial states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, where workers fear that the EV transition threatens jobs. Trump has repeatedly criticized electric vehicles and promised to roll back the new tailpipe standards.