Overregulation of diesel trucks has raised costs for all Americans. Rolling back EPA rules could lower prices and boost the economy.
, Ever-more onerous vehicle emissions regulations, particularly on diesel trucks, have been hampering the American economy and driving up the cost of everything from produce to lumber for decades. One of the quickest and most effective ways the Trump administration could bring down costs for American families would be to end the years-long regulatory assault on diesel engines. Diesel semi-trucks are the workhorses of the American transportation and logistics industry. Diesel engines power more than three-fourths of all commercial vehicles in the United States. In 2022, trucks moved nearly 73 percent of the nation's freight by weight. From the eggs you had for breakfast this morning to the chair you're sitting on right now, chances are it was moved to market by a truck. Heavy-duty diesel pickup trucks also play a key role for businesses large and small. Towing companies rely on them to rescue stranded motorists. Construction companies use them to haul equipment. Farmers use them to transport livestock. Utility companies use them to get the lights back on after a bad storm. If you see someone plowing a church parking lot after a blizzard, chances are it's in a diesel truck. And, of course, millions of Americans turn to diesel trucks to haul their boats and RVs for recreational purposes every year. Regulatory Onslaught Thanks to new ultra-precise manufacturing techniques and engineering breakthroughs, diesel engines are significantly more powerful and efficient today than even just a few years ago. But government emissions regulations have made them needlessly expensive and unreliable, hurting Americans' pocketbooks. While the Environmental Protection Agency slowly began creating a web of complex emissions regulations in the 1980s and 1990s, things really took a turn for the worse in the 2000s. The first major blow came in 2006, when the EPA began mandating ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel. This change reduced the lubricity of the fuel, leading to premature wear…