By Eamonn Ryan
In a significant move, the National Grocers Association (NGA) has voiced its firm backing for a resolution that seeks to overturn the United States’ phase-down of HFC refrigerants.
Is this the start of a roll-back of HFC phase down? Storyset/Freepik.com
The resolution, spearheaded by Florida Congressman Neal Dunn, targets the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Final Rule on the Management of Certain HFCs and Their Substitutes under the AIM Act.
Representing over 1 700 independent retailers, the NGA has raised strong concerns about the new regulations, arguing that they impose financially burdensome and complex compliance demands on businesses, particularly smaller grocery stores. The association maintains that these requirements are a direct threat to the survival of independent grocers, who are already struggling with rising costs across the board.
Chris Jones, the NGA’s chief government relations officer, commented, “The EPA’s new refrigeration regulations place an undue financial and operational burden on independent grocers who are already grappling with historic increases in labour, utility, and credit card swipe fees. In an industry that sees an average net margin of only 1.4%, any additional expenses can be devastating.”
Echoing these sentiments, Congressman Dunn emphasised that the EPA failed to consider the broader implications for American businesses. “The EPA clearly did not consider the undue burden they would place on American businesses when they finalised their sweeping refrigeration regulation,” he said. “American grocers and restaurants do not need government regulators in their kitchens and storerooms, driving up operating costs and forcing them to pass that cost on to the consumer.”
With the growing support for this resolution, one must ask: Could this be the beginning of a broader movement to roll back global HFC phase-down regulations? The industry and its supporters are clearly pushing back against the environmental and financial pressures brought about by the regulations, and this move in the US could signal a shift in policy toward less aggressive restrictions on HFCs.
Source: National Grocers Association (NGA).
