Trump transition weighs plan to cancel USPS contracts to build large EV fleet
Postal service plans to spend billions on EV chargers and roughly 66,000 new trucks
Contract cancellation likely part of sweeping executive order on EVs
By Jarrett Renshaw and Alexandra Ulmer
Dec 6 (Reuters) - Donald Trump's transition team is considering canceling the United States Postal Service's contracts to electrify its delivery fleet, as part of a broader suite of executive orders targeting electric vehicles, according to three sources familiar with the plans.
The move, which could be unveiled in the early days of Trump’s administration that begins on January 20, is in line with Trump's campaign promises to roll back President Joe Biden’s efforts to decarbonize U.S. transportation to fight climate change – an agenda Trump has said is unnecessary and potentially damaging to the economy.
Reuters has previously reported that Trump is planning to kill a $7,500 consumer tax credit for electric-vehicle purchases, and plans roll back U.S. President Joe Biden's stricter fuel-efficiency standards.
The sources told Reuters that Trump’s transition team is now reviewing how it can unwind the postal service's multi-billion dollar contracts, including with Oshkosh Corp OSK.N and Ford F.N, for tens of thousands of battery-driven delivery trucks and charging stations.
Oshkosh and Ford did not respond to requests for comment.
In 2023, Congress gave USPS $3 billion as part of a $430 billion climate bill to buy EVs and charging infrastructure. It plans to buy some 66,000 electric vehicles to build one of the largest electric vehicle fleets in the nation by 2028.
As part of that, Oshkosh is expected to deliver about 45,000 electric vehicles, with the remaining coming from mainstream automakers like Ford, according to the USPS. The initial batch of 14,000 chargers are being supplied by Siemens, ChargePoint and Blink, according to the USPS.
The USPS is an autonomous federal agency with its own governing board, making severing the contract legally challenging, but Trump is expected to test the boundaries of executive power on a range of issues, from trade to federal spending.
The USPS did not respond to requests for comment.
Trump’s team did not comment directly on plans for the USPS contract.
"President Trump will protect the freedom of Americans to drive whichever vehicle they choose, enhance his tough tariffs on Chinese-imported cars, and save the U.S. auto industry for generations to come. No policy should be deemed official unless it comes directly from President Trump," Trump transition team spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
In 2021, Biden issued an executive order on EVs declaring that 50% of all new passenger cars and light trucks would be zero-emission vehicles. To achieve that goal, Biden directed various federal agencies to undertake rules on new emission and fuel standards designed to speed adoption of electric vehicles.
(Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw; editing by Richard Valdmanis and Nick Zieminski)
((jarrett.renshaw@thomsonreuters.com; (646) 223-6193;))
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