Restrictions on hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) refrigerants used in commercial and residential air conditioners and refrigerators have officially ended.
“It is my honor to be discussing the taking of a very historic action to substantially lower costs for consumers, protect hundreds of thousands of jobs, and save Americans well over $2 billion a year by officially terminating the Biden administration's ridiculous regulations imposing costly requirements on refrigerators and air conditioners,” Trump said.
The regulation referenced is the Technology Transition Rule implemented in 2020, which Trump said forced businesses to abandon working equipment for costly alternatives.
The Technology Transitions Rule falls under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act and targets HFC chemicals.
HFCs produce greenhouse gases that are believed to leak through pipes or appliances and contribute to global warming.
"Under the Biden administration, the so-called technology transition rule, which was crazy, forced companies to adopt specific high-cost refrigerants, massively driving up the price of transporting and storing refrigerants and various goods,” Trump said.
Zeldin estimated an $800 million savings for grocery stores and the safeguarding of some 350,000 jobs.
Supermarket executives present at the press conference expressed relief.
"The Biden EPA face-planted when trying to jam through their restrictions," Zeldin said. "Americans who wanted to be able to fix their equipment were instead being required to buy far more costly new equipment, and that just doesn't make any sense."
For example, Kevin McDaniel, who operates Piggly Wiggly grocery stores, said the Biden-era regulations were a good idea, but they were thrown together too fast.
“There would have been a lot of independents out of business and what people don't realize is it's not just a refrigerant change,” McDaniel said. “It was an equipment change.”
The rule was imposed to reduce greenhouse gases used in cooling equipment, according to advocates in favor of the rule.
The Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute President Stephen Yurek said extending the deadline for phasing out HFCs maintains and even increases demand in the market for existing refrigerants while supply continues to fall.
“Manufacturers have already retooled product lines and certified models based on the existing timeline,” Yurek said. “Nearly 90% of residential and light commercial air conditioning systems use substitute refrigerants, rather than HFCs.”
Zelden predicted that the reversal of the rule would lower the cost of grocery shopping.
“Americans will be able to see when they go and buy their food," Zeldin said.