MEMORANDUM FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby direct:
Section 1. Purpose. Under the previous administration, stringent environmental regulations significantly increased vehicle costs. My Administration has taken historic steps to alleviate these regulatory pressures and reduce costs for consumers. In the largest deregulatory action in U.S. history, we have rescinded regulations on greenhouse gas emissions for various vehicles and affirmed the right to repair agricultural and non-road equipment.
Despite these efforts, consumers and aftermarket-parts manufacturers and resellers continue to face regulatory uncertainty over the use of aftermarket parts in repairs due to the Clean Air Act’s (CAA) prohibition on tampering with emissions controls. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) operates the only recognized certification process for aftermarket parts under the CAA, but this process is flawed. Securing a CARB Executive Order certifying that a part does not increase vehicle emissions is increasingly time-consuming and costly, often exceeding a year, even with all necessary documentation and testing. This effectively transfers federal compliance determination to California. Furthermore, the bottleneck at CARB limits the supply and raises the cost of compliant parts. To maintain vehicle affordability, it is my Administration’s policy that consumers should be able to repair their vehicles with affordable parts without being accused of bypassing emissions controls.
Sec. 2. Expanding Emission Repair Options. The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to provide guidance within 30 days from this memorandum’s date, clarifying actions individuals can take to conduct or have conducted emission repairs on their vehicles, in line with the CAA. This guidance should be limited to the issues specified in this memorandum.
Sec. 3. Providing Assurances. To clarify matters for aftermarket-equipment manufacturers, prevent foreign knock-offs, and reduce dependency on CARB’s flawed certification process, the Administrator of the EPA should encourage submissions, expeditiously review, and act on requests from organizations able to test aftermarket parts for CAA compliance. Where suitable, the EPA Administrator should provide assurances, protecting manufacturers’ intellectual property and confidential business information, that proposed certification processes for aftermarket-emissions parts comply with the CAA and relevant EPA regulations.
Sec. 4. Individual Freedom to Fix. The EPA Administrator should consider deprioritizing enforcement actions against individuals who, in good faith, attempt to restore their vehicles to their original configuration.
Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this memorandum should be interpreted to impair or affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget concerning budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) Implementation of this memorandum shall be consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This memorandum does not intend to, and does not, create any enforceable right or benefit, substantive or procedural, against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
DONALD J. TRUMP
