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way belated<div>=</div><div><div>=</div><div>icn 1119</div><div>...</div><h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Turning to the Courts</h3>It will likely be the courts that decide the outcome of the Trump administration's battles with California. And on the state's greenhouse gas emissions standards for autos, the legal hurdle that the Trump administration faces is high.When Congress originally passed the Clean Air Act in the 1970s, lawmakers gave California authority to set its own standards, seeking not to disrupt the steps the state already had taken to address pollution <a href="https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/about/history" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">under then-Gov. Ronald Reagan.</a> All the state needs to do to obtain its "waiver" to act is show a compelling need, and that its action is not arbitrary or capricious and is at least as protective as the federal standard. <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/18092019/trump-auto-standards-rollback-california-waiver-electric-vehicles-climate-change" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Until Trump</a>, no administration had ever revoked a California waiver that already has been granted."To revoke a waiver that is already issued is a huge leap legally, and is sort of ironic in the light of other instances where the administration is taking the position of deferring to the states, and giving them more responsibility and autonomy," said McCabe.The Trump administration plans to make the legal argument that the greenhouse gas emissions standards are, in effect, fuel economy standards—and that Congress prohibited states from setting their own fuel economy standards when it established a national auto efficiency program in 1975.Two federal courts—in Vermont and in California—rejected that legal reasoning during the George W. Bush administration.Trump's rollback of greenhouse gas standards could work to the automakers' short-term benefit, since their less <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/15102018/automakers-gm-ford-pickup-suv-electric-vehicle-emissions-standards-climate-change-industry-bailout" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">fuel-efficient </a><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/15102018/automakers-gm-ford-pickup-suv-electric-vehicle-emissions-standards-climate-change-industry-bailout" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">SUVs and pickup trucks</a> are their most profitable vehicles.In the long-run, though, automakers risk getting left behind in the competition to meet growing global demand for electric vehicles, which explains why Ford, Honda, BMW and Volkswagen struck a deal with California in July to voluntarily implement annual fuel economy improvements across their fleets even if the Trump administration weakened standards. The deal <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/20/climate/trump-auto-emissions-rollback-disarray.html?smid=tw-nytclimate&smtyp=cur" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">reportedly enraged</a> Trump, and his administration has threatened them with antitrust action over the agreement.When asked how it answers the charges that it is engaging in a political vendetta against California, the Trump EPA returned to its message on the environmental shortcomings of the state that is fighting the administration to keep environmental protections in place."Highlighting that California has very serious environmental failures both with air and water quality is not a political issue, and unlike previous Administrations, under this Administration the EPA is acting to protect public health and the environment for all Americans," said Corry Schiermeyer, EPA's associate administrator for public affairs in an email.From a purely political standpoint, Trump has little to lose in warring with California. It resonates with the president's base, if the response from his Twitter followers is any indication. "California is such a mess @potus!," tweeted @carrieksada. "Fires everywhere. And they're worried about exhaust fumes."         Trump lost the state in 2016 by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/results/california" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">30 percentage points</a>, but he won the election without the nation's largest pot of electoral votes.Of course, the state was not always so politically lopsided. California was the home of two Republican presidents elected in the past 50 years. But as Reagan's daughter<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/10/30/my-fathers-library-will-likely-survive-fires-california-my-youth-is-gone/?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-a%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;"> Patti Davis wrote of her state</a> last week: with wildfires advancing on her father's presidential library in Simi Valley, that California is gone.<div>=</div></div><div><a href="https://www.alternet.org/general-motors-laying-thousands-workers-and-closing-two-us-plants-michigan-and-ohio">https://www.alternet.org/general-motors-laying-thousands-workers-and-closing-two-us-plants-michigan-and-ohio</a>General Motors has made an announcement that is going to bring considerable pain in the Rust Belt. The automotive giant will be slashing 14,700 jobs, many of them in Michigan and Ohio—and a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gm-restructuring/gm-to-slash-jobs-and-production-cancel-some-car-models-sources-idUSKCN1NV1NB" style="text-decoration-line: none;">plant closing</a> is expected in Ontario, Canada as well.  This is the biggest restructuring at GM in a decade, with <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/26/business/gm-oshawa-plant/index.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">15% of its workforce</a> being eliminated in North America. According to GM CEO Mary Barra, these job cuts reflect changing tastes in the automotive market and will bring a greater emphasis on electric and autonomous vehicles. Models expected to be discontinued include the Cadillac CT6, the Chevrolet Cruze and the Buick LaCrosse.According to GM, tariffs on imported steel—which were imposed by the Trump Administration earlier this year—have cost the company $1 billion. And in late October, GM offered buyouts to 50,000 salaried workers in North America.The decline of traditional passenger cars in favor of larger SUVs and pickup trucks has been a major factor in GM’s evolution. In 2012, traditional passenger cars comprised over 50% of vehicle sales in the U.S., but during the first nine months of 2018, that number decreased to 31%. This year, SUV and pickup truck sales have increased by about 31%.<interaction data-token="5b96855f8198b4e625350260" data-context="true" data-tags="" data-fallback="true" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" />GM announced that it will also be closing two plants outside of North America by the end of 2019.Ohio politicians, including Rep. Tim Ryan and Sen. Sherrod Brown ripped the company's decision....<div>===</div></div>