PRI and SEMA are expressing profound thanks to President Trump, who today signed a Congressional Review Act resolution that will protect more than 330,000 American jobs and preserve $100 billion in annual economic impact for the nation's economy by revoking a waiver that would have enabled California to ban internal combustion engine vehicles.

President Trump, who invited PRI and SEMA to join him in the Oval Office for the signing ceremony, now has delivered on a key campaign promise in which he pledged to preserve vehicle choice for millions of Americans to decide which car or truck is right for them. In doing so, President Trump has provided a significant firewall for the nation's automotive aftermarket, a third of whom manufacture and sell products solely for internal combustion engine vehicles.

"President Trump meant what he said when he declared his intent to stop radical policymakers from depriving the American people of vehicle choice. He has proven to be a man of his word and a true champion of American innovation and ingenuity, particularly of that borne out of the automotive aftermarket industry," said SEMA and PRI CEO Mike Spagnola, who was present for the signing ceremony. "This is a clear example of American government at its finest, where a bipartisan set of lawmakers set aside their differences for the sake of the American people--in this case, to strike down a bad, ill-conceived policy from California that would've shattered the nation's economy and destabilized the automotive marketplace."

Background 

PRI and SEMA are not, and never will be, anti-EV; rather, they champion a technology-neutral approach that fosters innovation and ingenuity. The association will continue efforts to preserve Americans' rights to vehicle choice and the automotive aftermarket industry's ability to design, manufacture and bring to market products that help solve the emissions challenge.

Beginning in 2023, PRI and SEMA led a national effort to educate voters and lawmakers on the damage of EV mandates on families, the working class and American small businesses. In February, when the effort to overturn the California waiver kicked into high gear, PRI and SEMA mobilized an army of advocates to:

• Send more than 56,000 letters to lawmakers in the House and Senate.
   
• Build a coalition of 335 small businesses for an April letter urging House and Senate leadership to hold votes to put an immediate stop to the implementation of the ACC II regulation.
   
• Host aftermarket business leaders and automotive influencers for 56 in-person meetings in Washington, D.C., with lawmakers and their staffs.
   
• Dominate the digital media landscape with countless memes and posts on the harms of EV mandates, reaching more than 2 million voters in key states, and running online ads that put pressure on lawmakers and staff around the Capitol.
   

Along the way, states not named California got wise to the harms of EV mandates. Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and Vermont each backed off policies to follow California's emissions policies, while North Carolina, Texas, Ohio, West Virginia and eight other states passed PRI- and SEMA-supported "ban the ban" legislation to ensure such mandates never take effect again.

This follows a significant financial investment by PRI and SEMA to educate voters throughout the 2024 presidential campaign via its Driving Force Action SuperPAC, with ads running the battleground states of Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

Readers can watch President Trump participate in the bill signing ceremony on June 12, 2025, on The White House YouTube page here.


Image courtesy of The White House, YouTube