November 20, 2003

The New York Times reports that having gone from being a net exporter of oil to importing one-third of its needs, China is now drafting minimum fuel economy standards on new cars that will be even tougher than American standards. In particular: In a major departure from American practice, all new sport utility vehicles and minivans in China would be required to meet the same standards as automatic-shift cars of the same weight. In the United States, standards for sport utilities and minivans are much lower than for cars. Furthermore standards are applied to each model of vehicles; gas-guzzlers cannot be subsidized by more efficient compact cars as done in the United States. 9:56:03 PM