New U.S. Auto-Efficiency Proposal Creates ‘Some Havoc’ in Canada

The Trump administration’s attempt to relax vehicle emission standards has put Canada in the tricky position of weakening its own rules or sticking to an alliance with California and the country’s domestic climate change targets.

Canada since the 1960s aligned its vehicle safety and environment standards with the U.S. given the close integration of their car markets. But President Donald Trump’s departure this week from Obama-era tailpipe standards forces Canada to chose between harmonization—which would entangle plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions—or raising costs on carmakers by going its own way.

The new U.S. rules force companies to improve fuel ...