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President Trump Participates in an Announcement with the Administrator of the EPA https://t.co/lZJTv7m8HJ
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 21, 2026* * *
The Trump administration plans to delay compliance with Biden-era EPA regulations targeting hydrofluorocarbons later today. These regulations apply to refrigerants used in air conditioners, refrigerators, supermarket cooling systems, refrigerated trucks, cold storage, and some industrial applications.
Bloomberg reports that the EPA's 2023 Technology Transitions Rule, enacted under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, will be rolled back, with an estimated cost savings of more than $2.4 billion.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the Biden-era rules imposed costly and unrealistic requirements that exceeded the law.
Americans were right to be frustrated with the Biden-era refrigerant rules. They didn't protect human health or the environment and instead piled on costly, unattainable restrictions beyond what the law requires," Zeldin told the outlet in a statement.
Zeldin added, "Today, the Trump EPA is fulfilling President Trump's promise to lower costs and is fixing every problem we can under the authority Congress gave us."
President Trump and Zeldin are set to announce the rollback of Biden-era EPA regulations at a White House event later today. Zeldin's team is also preparing to propose additional rollbacks on hydrofluorocarbon regulations for refrigerated transport.
C-SPAN says Trump and Zeldin are set to announce the Oval Office at 11:00 ET.
The move here fits within Trump's broader deregulation agenda, which has focused on rolling back Biden-era environmental rules and lowering compliance costs for businesses to induce an economic boom.
Tyler Durden Thu, 05/21/2026 - 10:15Following Japan's ugly PMIs (Services lowest since March 2025) and Europe's disaster (weakest composite EU PMI since late 2023)...
...with prices surging...
All eyes are on the US 'soft' survey data for signs of divergence (or contagion).
With US 'hard' data improving notably, the preliminary soft survey data for May was mixed with improved performance in manufacturing was countered by a sluggish service sector.
Flash US Services PMI Business Activity Index: 50.9 (April: 51.0). 2-month low.
Flash US Manufacturing PMI: 55.3 (April: 54.5). 48-month high.
Source: Bloomberg
“The damaging economic impact from the war in the Middle East is becoming increasingly evident in the business surveys," according to Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence:
"The ‘flash’ PMI data for May recorded only modest growth of business activity as demand was again squeezed by a further spike in prices and jobs were cut as firms worried over rising costs and the economic outlook.
Coming on the heels of a subdued April reading, the May PMI indicates that the economy will struggle to manage annualized GDP growth of much more than 1% in the second quarter...
However, Williamson notes that even this subdued pace of growth may not last.
"On average, over the past three months order book growth has slowed to its weakest for two years, and a boost from precautionary stock building due to concerns over further price hikes and supply delays will not last forever.
Demand also looks set to cool further in response to rising prices.
"Firms’ costs have jumped higher at a pace not seen since the energy price shock of 2022 and are being passed on to customers in the form of sharply higher selling prices. The survey price gauges therefore indicate that inflation looks set to rise further just as the economy cools.”
Finally, while the composite numbers are not that encouraging, on a relative basis, US looks dominant...
Maybe trump was right about the impact of the war on everyone else? (Just don't tell anyone who drives!)
Tyler Durden Thu, 05/21/2026 - 09:54