https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/3/30/1753246/-Trump-prepares-to-turn-the-US-into-a-dumping-ground-for-dirty-inefficient-vehicles
"It’s not difficult to guess the results of creating “relaxed” standards for emissions and fuel economy in the United States while the rest of the world, plus California, keeps moving ahead. We don’t really have to guess, because we’ve been there before. For decades, Republican lawmakers like Missouri’s Roy Blunt fought to keep fuel economy standards low and emission standards lax. That allowed US automakers to build vehicles more cheaply, without investing in either the research or retooling needed to generate more and cleaner miles. It also had a immediate result on vehicles in the US market — the US became a dumping ground for older engines. Even if consumers wanted something better, they found that European and Asian manufacturers often sold more efficient cars in other markets, and vehicles a generation or more behind in the US."