President Donald Trump speaks during an announcement with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin (not pictured) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, May 21, 2026.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a postponement of two Biden-era EPA refrigerant regulations, arguing that the move will reduce costs for businesses and save consumers money at the grocery store.
The government estimates that the new rules will save American businesses and families more than $2.4 billion.
“Our actions allow companies to choose the cooling systems that work best for them, saving billions of dollars,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement.
“American families will feel this directly in lower food prices,” he said.
But it was unclear Thursday whether and how companies like grocers would use those savings to make it more affordable for shoppers to fill their shopping carts. The changes would not require grocers to take any steps to lower prices at a time when many households are seeing their budgets stretched by rising gasoline prices and years of elevated inflation.
The rules target hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, powerful greenhouse gases commonly used in refrigeration and air conditioning systems and widely considered to cause global warming. Under the Biden administration, the EPA adopted regulations in 2023 to reduce leaks and emissions from these systems, impacting industries ranging from grocery stores and food distribution to semiconductor manufacturing.
Now EPA is delaying compliance by revising the 2023 rule and another 2024 regulation.
The administration’s messaging appears to be aimed directly at inflation-weary consumers, especially as food prices remain politically sensitive ahead of the fall midterm elections. Grocery retailers rely heavily on refrigeration infrastructure, and compliance with EPA regulations would have required upgrades, leak detection systems and new refrigerants in some cases.
When the rules were introduced, the EPA argued that they would save businesses and consumers $4.5 billion over time through energy efficiency and lower-cost refrigerants. Food and grocery industry groups warned that the transition could cost the industry billions in upfront equipment and compliance costs.
Large chains such as Walmart, Hook And Costco have been investing in “natural refrigerant” systems for years, so the largest operators have generally been better able to manage the transition. Smaller regional grocers and independent stores may have felt the cost burden more heavily.
“An orderly transition of equipment reduces both capital costs and operating costs, and at the end of the day that’s good for consumers because we can take advantage of that and turn that into price reductions,” Kroger CEO Greg Foran said at a White House event.
Still, it remains unclear whether grocers would pass on the cost savings to consumers. When asked at the signing, Foran said the company was “in the midst of passing on savings to the consumer and ensuring they pay the right price”.
On the Thursday before Trump’s policy announcement, Bloomberg News reported that Foran planned price cuts at Kroger to allow the grocer to better compete with Walmart and Costco.
Food inflation is caused by a variety of factors, including labor costs, transportation costs, feed costs and raw material prices. Some of this spending has increased in recent months due to the Iran war. The cost of compliance with refrigeration regulations represents a small portion of the grocery store’s overall operating costs.
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