05/25/2026
On May 21, 2026, President Donald Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced a rollback of two Biden-era regulations regarding hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in refrigeration and air-conditioning systems, projecting that the move will save American families and businesses more than $2.4 billion. The administration is finalizing revisions to the 2023 Technology Transitions Rule to extend compliance deadlines, which officials argue will lower grocery prices and safeguard over 350,000 high-skilled jobs, and has proposed a technical correction to the 2024 Emissions Reduction and Reclamation (ER&R) rule to exempt road-transport refrigeration appliances from stringent leak-repair requirements. While the White House contends these measures will reduce inflationary pressures on the food supply chain and provide necessary flexibility for businesses, some industry groups and environmental analysts have cautioned that the policy shifts could disrupt the transition to climate-friendly technologies and potentially lead to higher service costs by constricting the supply of newer refrigerants.