Automakers in the United States and their supporters welcomed President Biden’s tariffs, saying they would protect domestic manufacturing and jobs from cheap Chinese vehicles.
The change to planned rules was an election-year concession to labor unions and auto executives, according to people familiar with the plan.
The E.P.A.’s plan is “neither reasonable nor achievable,” the lobbying group said, using strong language in the face of the urgency to cut planet-warming emissions from vehicles.
The Biden administration is proposing rules to ensure that two-thirds of new cars and a quarter of new heavy trucks sold in the U.S. by 2032 are all-electric.
Carmakers may need several years to revamp their supply chains to meet new rules, but the legislation is still seen as a win for electric vehicles.