Trump Calls Environmental Regulations ‘Out of Control’

In a meeting at the White House Tuesday with the top executives of the three biggest U.S. automakers, President Trump described environmental regulations as “out of control” and vowed to remove obstacles for manufacturers and oil companies.

“I am, to a large extent, an environmentalist,” Trump told the auto executives. “I believe in it. But, it’s out of control.”

At Tuesday’s meeting, he vowed to streamline and shorten the process of obtaining permits and other approvals to establish a friendlier business climate in the U.S.

“We’re going to make the process much more simple for the oil companies and everybody else that wants to do business in the United States,” Mr. Trump said at the start of a meeting with executives from General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV.

“I have friends who want to build in the United States,” he said. “They go many years, many years and they can’t get the environmental permits over something that nobody ever heard of before. It’s absolutely crazy.”

Trump has openly pushed for U.S. automakers to cancel plans to build plants abroad and keep jobs in the U.S.

Trump is holding a series of meetings in his first days in office promoting moves to bolster the U.S. manufacturing sector. On Monday, he signed a memorandum withdrawing the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement after claiming the pact would hurt U.S. jobs. He has also pledged to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada.

On Monday in a meeting with a dozen CEOs of top American corporations, including Under Armour’s CEO, Trump promised to significantly cut regulations and corporate taxes. He stated, “We think we can cut regulations by 75 percent. Maybe more.”

On January 18, more than 100 leaders from industry brands from Appalachian Outfitters to Zumiez, joined REI, Patagonia, The North Face and the OIA in sending a letter to Congress calling on elected officials to “strongly oppose any proposal, current or future, that devalues or compromises the integrity of our national public lands.”