Dealers tell Government: Don’t follow Trump's automotive policies

President of the Trinidad and Tobago Automotive Dealers Association (TTADA) Rhondall Feeles said he hoped the TT Government would not follow US President Donald Trump's plans to reverse environmental policies.

In conversation with Newsday, Feeles said it was a backward step for the new US president to move to end its Green New Deal, aimed at reducing US greenhouse gas emissions, and cancel the US government’s electric vehicle mandate, giving way to production of more internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.

“When the US sneezes, the entire region catches the cold. I would hope that we have become independent-thinking people to decide what is best in our society. It is fine for the US to do what they think is best for the US, but we must do what is best for us.”

Feeles said with the reduced fuel subsidy and heavier duties and taxes on ICE vehicles, they had become more expensive to import.

He said from as far back as 2013, TTADA has championed the drive to move away from ICE vehicles and toward hybrid and electric vehicles. He said over the years, the country had slowly been making that transition. He added that with the removal of taxes on hybrid and electric vehicles, people had gravitated toward them.

“People boast of the mileage that they get based on fuel consumption and they boast that it will have a benefit to the reduction our carbon footprint,” he said.

Feeles also said the new US policy would have little effect on TT’s automobile industry and the importation of cars, given that US-made cars were usually left-hand drive.

In March last year, the Biden Administration established new tailpipe-emission restrictions through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) aimed at cutting emissions by close to 50 per cent and increasing the long-term viability of electric and hybrid vehicles.

In September, the US House of Representatives voted to repeal the policy, saying the rules were so stringent it would effectively force US carmakers to focus on building electric and hybrid vehicles.

At Trump’s inauguration on January 20, he announced his intention to end the Green New Deal and revoke the electric vehicle mandate as part of his “drill baby, drill,” agenda.

He declared a national energy emergency, which will focus on unlocking crude oil resources in Alaska.

“The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices,” Trump said. He plans to use the development of crude oil resources to reduce energy costs domestically.