The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has declared that an emissions agreement between California and four major truck makers is “unenforceable,” paving the way for noncompliance with the Golden State’s pollution rules, which are stricter than federal standards.
The FTC made this determination as the agency closed an investigation into whether several truck and engine manufacturers violated antitrust laws by engaging in a voluntary “Clean Truck Partnership” with the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
Truck manufacturers, in the July 2023 partnership, agreed to abide by California’s emissions standards in exchange for certain concessions.
Among those standards is the Advanced Clean Trucks rule, which requires 7.5 percent of heavy-duty vehicles to be emissions-free by 2035. The Omnibus Regulation, meanwhile, has sought to slash nitrogen oxide emissions by 90 percent and update engine testing protocols.
The FTC said Monday that it was closing the antitrust investigation after receiving commitments from four truck manufacturers — Daimler Truck, International Motors, PACCAR and Volvo Group — that they would abandon the Clean Truck Partnership.
Specifically, the commitments agreed that “the Clean Truck Partnership is unenforceable and that none of the manufacturers has ever or will ever attempt to enforce the Clean Truck Partnership’s terms against another manufacturer,” according to the FTC.
“CARB’s regulatory overreach posed a major threat to American trucking and, in our view, presented serious antitrust concerns,” Taylor Hoogendoorn, deputy director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, said in a statement.
The FTC’s announcement came a day after the same four truck makers filed a lawsuit against California regulators, arguing that the Golden State lacks the authority to enforce its heavy-duty vehicle emissions rules.
Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, I’m Rachel Frazin — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.
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