The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday said it'll reconsider the greenhouse gas tailpipe emissions regulations instituted by the Biden administration that are a key provision behind what President Donald Trump has called an electric vehicle "mandate."

“The American auto industry has been hamstrung by the crushing regulatory regime of the last administration," EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement. "As we reconsider nearly one trillion dollars of regulatory costs, we will abide by the rule of law to protect consumer choice and the environment."

The Biden administration last year finalized the most aggressive emissions rules in the country's history for model years 2027, whose production will begin next year, to 2032 and beyond.

Regulators gave automakers more time early on in the period than in the originally proposed rules to ramp up production of vehicles with fewer tailpipe emissions. But lagging consumer adoption of electric vehicles — and the potential that federal EV subsidies will be eliminated — has some suggesting the targets aren't achievable without shrinking the market for new vehicles if there isn't sufficient demand for often-pricier electrified models.

The announcement is a part of a series of announced reevaluations to weaken or repeal 31 EPA standards affecting multiple industries, including energy and transportation.

“Breaking faith with the American people and breaking 50 years of laws of the land, the Environmental Protection Agency today abandoned protecting human health and the environment," Jackie Wong, senior vice president for climate and energy at the nonprofit advocacy Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a statement.

“Repealing or weakening these important safeguards on pollution from cars, power plants, and oil producers," she added, "would mean higher energy bills, more asthma and heart attacks, more toxins in drinking water, and more extreme weather."

The EPA's rules put the fleetwide light-duty limit at 170 grams of carbon dioxide per mile for 2027 down to 85 grams in 2032. They don't specify any requirements for a particular type of propulsion system, but automotive executives have said EVs will be needed to comply.

Representatives for General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV referred comments to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an industry trade group that represents major automakers except for Tesla Inc. John Bozella, CEO of the alliance, in a statement called the reevaluation "positive" and should be done in alignment with the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration's review of Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards.

“A balanced approach to emissions in the U.S. is key to preserving vehicle choice, keeping the industry globally competitive and in a position to support the country’s economic and national security in the years ahead," Bozzella said in a statement. “As we’ve said for a long time, the existing GHG rules are extremely challenging to achieve. Even in the best of circumstances we called them the ‘ragged edge of achievable.’"

The National Automobile Dealers Association also welcomed the decision: “Our current emissions regulatory framework is completely out of sync with any realistic assessment of consumer demand for electric cars," NADA CEO Mike Stanton said in a statement. "If not altered, these EV mandates will lead to extreme limitations on vehicle choice, all while making the smaller pool of available vehicles even more expensive."

An EPA news release said the rules on light medium and heavy-duty vehicles take away Americans' ability to choose a safe and affordable car for their family while increasing the cost of products that trucks deliver. They impose more than $700 billion in regulatory and compliance costs, it added.

But environmental groups suggested the reevaluation is counter to the administration's other commitments.

“Just last week, President Trump promised to ‘get toxins out of our environment … and keep our children healthy and strong,'" Amanda Leland, executive director of nonprofit advocacy Environmental Defense Fund, said in a statement. "Administrator Zeldin’s plan undercuts those words. Those seeking to make America healthier should be deeply concerned."

The agency also is reevaluating other parts of the Biden administration's “Clean Trucks Plan," including a 2022 heavy-duty nitrous oxide rule.

Trump on his first day in office signed the Unleashing American Energy executive order directing the elimination of what he called an EV mandate by "removing regulatory barriers to motor vehicle access" and "ensuring a level regulatory playing field for consumer choice in vehicles." It also ordered termination of state waivers like California's that grant permission to set different, more aggressive standards.

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