President-elect Donald Trump has spent much of his 2024 campaign campaigning to restore U.S. energy dominance by ramping up oil and gas production, expanding hydraulic fracturing and lifting a moratorium on liquefied natural gas exports. But how he would move to implement these sweeping changes drew sharp contrasts with his predecessor and raised new questions.
Trump vowed at a rally in Pennsylvania last month. He claimed to end the Biden administration's “energy war” and “disastrous” energy policies that he says have permeated the current administration.
President Trump said of the Biden administration: “They destroyed steel mills, destroyed coal jobs, attacked oil and gas jobs, and sold manufacturing jobs to China and other foreign countries around the world.” .
This is not the first time Trump has used energy and climate issues to draw a sharp contrast with his predecessor.
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Women cheer as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives to address a campaign rally in Reading, Pennsylvania, on November 4, 2024. (Ed Jones/AFP)
The Republican president-elect will use his second White House term to re-withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord, roll back stricter emissions standards for cars and power plants, including the controversial hydraulic fracturing law. vowed to step up oil and gas production. A technique that uses pressurized fluid to extract natural gas from shale.
Days after his victory, an industry group representing the nation's largest oil and gas producers told Fox News Digital there was little doubt that Trump would deliver on those promises in a second term.
'Energy is on the ballot' in 2024 election, says American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Somers stated in a statement.
In electing Trump, Somers said, voters “sent a clear signal that they want choice, not mandate, and an all-of-the-above approach that leverages the nation's resources and builds on the successes of his first term.” I sent it,” he said.
But in some areas it will be more difficult for President Trump to act unilaterally.
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Excess natural gas will be burned at a refinery in Sinclair, Wyoming (Marli Miller/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images/File)
For months, President Trump has been on the Democratic ticket for climate change, allocating $369 billion in subsidies aimed at reshoring investments in electric vehicle manufacturing, battery production and new utility-scale wind power. He has vowed to “repeat” the Clean Energy Spending Bill, the Inflation Control Act. Solar power project.
President Trump has called the law “the greatest fraud in history,” but it is unclear what actions he himself might take to repeal the law.
Although Trump currently enjoys the support of Republican majorities in both houses of Congress, it is unlikely that he will seek to completely reverse the policy. inflation control lawThat's partly because most of the funding designated under the law to help build clean energy projects and manufacturing plants has already been awarded.
In fact, much of the money is going to Republican-led states.
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President Trump has vowed to end the Biden administration's “energy wars” and “disastrous” energy policies. (Tama Mario/Getty Images/File)
Other hurdles also exist. Because the IRA is a law, President Trump could not repeal the bill on his own.
However, we may take certain steps to limit eligibility for certain tax credits and incentives.
As president, Trump has tightened regulations on automakers eligible for the electric vehicle tax credit, potentially increasing manufacturing costs and making electric vehicles more expensive for consumers.
President Trump may also introduce new tariffs on certain sectors. EV made in China Offering other products to encourage the Chinese government to manufacture more EVs in the US
In this regard, President Trump said this year that he is considering imposing tariffs on Chinese-made EVs of “more than 60%” to prevent them from saturating the U.S. market.
But some experts warn this could backfire. The Tax Foundation's Federal Tax Policy Center even A 10% tariff on Chinese-made EVs could cost U.S. consumers more than $300 billion a year in increased taxes.
The group said it could also threaten retaliatory measures by the Chinese government and other trading partners, including retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods.
Still, Republicans and industry groups are unlikely to ease their pressure for action.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Savannah, Georgia, on September 24, 2024. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
This week, the American Petroleum Institute released a five-point “policy roadmap” aimed at influencing the next administration's actions in the auto manufacturing sector. That includes a repeal of the Biden administration's stricter fuel efficiency standards for vehicles, which aim to reduce tailpipe pollution by 8% in the 2024 and 2025 model years, rising to 10% in 2026.
He also called on President Trump to release a five-year plan to expand offshore oil and gas drilling leases.
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In a letter API sent to Trump with the plan, Sommers said, “Our nation has the power to take full advantage of America's energy leadership to improve the lives of Americans and bring stability to an unstable world.'' “There is an intergenerational opportunity to bring about this.”
“It has never been more important for America to control its energy future.”
But some doubt that Trump will attack the industry, which has already received billions of dollars of investment from automakers.
“The president is gone, but the auto industry is thriving,” Mark Schirmer, director of industry insights and corporate communications for Cox Automotive, told reporters this week.
