In Ypsilanti, Michigan, President Donald J. Trump announced that the Environmental Protection Agency would reconsider the automotive emissions standards it affirmed in the waning days of the Obama administration as a part of the One National Program. Under the Obama administration, the "CAFE" program on fuel efficiency regulation morphed into an arm of the Climate Action Plan, directing substantial reductions in vehicle fuel use for the purposes of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Now, though nominally harmonized with automobile emissions standards, fuel economy standards are functionally subject to regulation by three separate agencies and - the Michigan announcement notwithstanding - risk subjecting automakers to disparate and costly requirements that could directly harm consumers.

In light of Trump's announcement and the fresh look it represents, it's time to re-think our approach to reducing fuel use and emissions from the vehicle fleet and to consider other, less destructive forms of regulation. A new supply-side idea, known as Clean Tax Cuts (CTCs), may prove a promising alternative. CTCs are premised on the notion that by replacing existing regulatory structures predicated on penalizing industry for not adhering to prescriptive targets with one that rewards industry - via reduced taxes - for beating targets, investment and innovation will be stimulated.

Please join the R Street Institute for a panel discussion of these recent developments, the existing triune approach to fuel economy regulation, and how Clean Tax Cuts could offer a market-based way forward.

Lunch will be served.