The American Petroleum Institute (API) has released a new policy roadmap for the incoming Trump administration and next Congress to secure American energy leadership and help reduce inflation.
Beginning with an open letter to President-elect Trump, the five-point policy roadmap details steps that law-makers and policy-makers in Washington can take in 2025 and beyond to “protect consumers, bolster geopolitical strength, leverage our national resources, reform our permitting system and advance sensible tax policy,” says API.
“Our country has a generational opportunity to fully leverage US energy leadership to improve the lives of all Americans and bring stability to a volatile world,” API President and CEO Mike Sommers wrote in the letter to President-elect Trump. “It has never been more vital that America control its energy future.”
“Yet our continued success is far from guaranteed, and we have been heading down a path of extreme regulations threatening everything from our choice of home appliances to the cars we drive,” Sommers said. “As an industry committed to American prosperity, we stand ready to work with you and Congress to reverse course and advance a robust vision for securing America’s energy dominance.”
API’s five-point policy roadmap outlines the path forward, as detailed below.
1. Protect consumer choice:
- Repeal the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) tailpipe rules.
- Repeal the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards.
- Deny/rescind EPA’s Waiver for California’s Advanced Clean Cars II (ACCII) rule.
2. Bolster America’s geopolitical strength:
- Lift the Department of Energy’s (DOE) LNG permitting pause.
- Swiftly process all pending export applications now “languishing” at DOE.
- Ensure the open access of American energy to global markets.
3. Leverage America's natural resources:
- Issue a new Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) five-year offshore leasing program.
- Repeal restrictive onshore leasing rules, starting with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Conservation and Landscape Health Rule.
- End EPA’s methane fee that misinterprets Congressional intent and “does little beyond increasing the cost of production for American oil and natural gas,” says API.
4. Reform the permitting system:
- Reform the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA).
- Reform the Clean Water Act.
- Advance judicial reform.
- Repeal the Biden-era NEPA rules.
5. Advance “sensible” tax policy
- Retain the 21% corporate tax rate to ensure global competitiveness.
- Maintain and extend tax provisions for domestic infrastructure investment.
- Preserve crucial international tax provisions.
API’s roadmap for America’s energy future can be accessed here.
