In response to the administration’s announcement on imported vehicle tariffs, Robbie Diamond, President and CEO of SAFE, made the following statement:

“When examining the relationship between import dependence, national security, and the fleecing of American consumers, a more critical issue is the singular dependence on oil to fuel our cars—both imported or domestically built. We urge the president to train his eyes on rising gasoline prices and the cartel behavior underlying them. Protecting American consumers and manufacturers depends on approving the energy security commission that will examine our exposure. Additionally, we must modernize and strengthen fuel economy standards to insulate consumers from anticompetitive behavior, and encouraging the continued manufacturing of more electric and alternative fuel vehicles that Government data shows are overwhelmingly produced in the United States.”

# # #

About Securing America’s Future Energy

Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE) is an action-oriented, nonpartisan organization that aims to reduce America’s dependence on oil. Near-total dependence on petroleum in the transportation sector undermines the nation’s economic and national security, and constrains U.S. foreign policy. To combat these threats, SAFE advocates for expanded domestic production of U.S. oil and gas resources, continued improvements in vehicle fuel efficiency, and transportation sector innovations including electric vehicles, natural gas trucks, and autonomous vehicles. In 2006, SAFE joined with General P.X. Kelley (Ret.), 28th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, and Frederick W. Smith, Chairman, President, and CEO of FedEx Corporation, to form the Energy Security Leadership Council (ESLC), a group of business and former military leaders committed to reducing the United States’ dependence on oil. Today, the ESLC is co-chaired by Frederick W. Smith and General James T. Conway (Ret), 34th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps.
###