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Tire manufacturers tend to have different compounds for Europe (focused on lower rolling resistance) and North America (focused on traction and a wider range of working temperatures). I'd guess that California will now simply get the EU variants instead of the NA variants.

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I would assume US tires also focus more on milage too. Europeans don't drive as far and you don't really want a bunch of old aged tires still driving around even if they got the tread.

Precisely because NA drivers drive a lot more, NA compounds are more focused on durability rather than increasing car mileage. EU drivers are alright with less durable compounds because rubber gets cooked after a few years and would have to be replaced anyway.

From what I remember European tired were often outperforming American tires in stopping performance and other metrics. So not sure that's true.

EU tires focus on low rolling resistance and low breaking distance (due to environmental and safety regulations), NA tires focus on durability (became people drive a lot more) and suitability for a wide range of temperatures (became of the climate).

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