AADA representatives participate in the 2023 Truck Industry Forum

Recently, Arkansas Automobile Dealers Association (AADA) joined heavy truck dealers from across the country in Washington DC for the 2023 Truck Industry Forum hosted by the American Truck Dealers (ATD). The goal of this event was to meet with members of Congress to advocate for truck dealer legislative priorities. The event focused on the new onerous “Phase 3” EPA greenhouse gas regulations. In response, heavy-duty truck dealers asked their Congressional delegations to sign the bicameral LaMalfa-Pappas letter to EPA (issue brief). Truck dealers also asked members of Congress to oppose the so-called “right to repair” bill (issue brief), cosponsor legislation to repeal the federal excise tax on new heavy-duty trucks (issue brief) and support bills to thwart catalytic converter, diesel particulate filter and diesel oxidation catalyst theft (issue brief).

Patrick Jacobs joined AADA President Greg Kirkpatrick in meeting with the Arkansas congressional delegation to discuss these issues. Patrick is with Carco in Fort Smith and serves on the AADA Board of Directors as the heavy truck dealer representative. Arkansas members of Congress are definitely on board with all our concerns on these key issues, particularly related to the EPA’s proposed regulations. While the trucking industry supports reducing emissions and putting cleaner and greener vehicles on the road, the EPA’s proposed regulations mandate stringent electric adoption targets and timelines that could slow down rather than accelerate electric vehicle investments. A substantial portion of this Forum focused on federal regulatory and legislative advocacy efforts to address this important issue.

AADA is working hard to focus our efforts on issues that impact all Arkansas heavy truck dealers, and we appreciate the work Patrick is doing to further this goal. Keep an eye out for more updates on all the issues we are working on that impact Arkansas truck dealers.