Trump rolls back refrigerant-chemical regs in bid to lower grocery prices
by Tom Howell Jr., Kerry Picket · The Washington TimesPresident Trump said Thursday that he is easing federal rules requiring companies to phase out certain chemicals used in commercial refrigeration.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s effort aims to reduce grocery prices as Americans complain about high costs.
Mr. Trump said the regulations were a burdensome legacy from the Biden era and that rolling them back would save an estimated $2 billion per year and create jobs.
“This was a tremendous burden, a tremendous cost — these people had to live with it,” Mr. Trump said, flanked by leaders of businesses that stand to benefit from the rollback.
The decision gives grocers, air-conditioning companies, semiconductor firms and other entities more time to phase out the use of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs.
The Biden administration issued regulations to crack down on HFCs because his allies considered them heat-trapping pollutants that could warm the planet.
Mr. Trump said restrictions drove up the cost of transportation and storage while forcing companies to replace equipment.
“It’s ridiculous, unnecessary and costly, and actually makes the machinery worse,” he said.
Advertisement Advertisement
With the midterm elections looming, the president is under pressure to address affordability after he campaigned in 2024 on reducing prices.
Grocery prices rose at an annual rate of nearly 3% in April, according to the latest government report, the highest rate since August 2023.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin criticized the last administration’s “rushed, frantic, reckless sprint” to phase out the refrigerants.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Kroger CEO Greg Foran said an “orderly transition” will help his grocery chain keep prices down.
Representatives from Piggly Wiggly and other companies said the mandate to transition to new refrigerants was imposed too quickly for grocers to keep up.
Advertisement Advertisement
Contact the author
Tom Howell Jr.
Follow author updates Follow Click to follow. Manage followed authors
Kerry Picket
Follow author updates Follow Click to follow. Manage followed authors