America was built by workers, builders, and innovators. And American chemistry helps power the manufacturing that keeps this country strong.
This isn't a slogan, it's a fact.
The fertilizer that feeds our farms, the coatings that protect our steel, the materials in our weapons systems, the chips powering Artificial Intelligence (AI) — it all starts with chemistry made by American workers in American plants.
It takes more than 500 specialty chemistries to produce a single computer chip.
President Donald Trump has made rebuilding American manufacturing a central national priority. That goal should unite anyone who cares about jobs, supply chains, national security, and America’s ability to compete.
When America makes things, America is stronger. When production moves overseas, we lose more than jobs; we lose self-reliance.
The pandemic made that lesson clear. Americans saw what happens when critical supply chains are too dependent on other countries. China gained too much control over essential manufacturing, and the United States paid the price.
Today, a broken federal review process run by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working against America's manufacturing goals.
It is slowing innovation, creating uncertainty for investors, and making it harder to keep the next generation of manufacturing here at home.
One of the major culprits is a law EPA administers that most Americans have never heard of: the Toxic Substances Control Act, or TSCA.
It governs how new chemistries reach the market.
Right now, more than 446 new American chemistries are stuck in the federal review pipeline with 92% past the mandatory review deadline, and more than 300 have been waiting longer than a year.
While American innovators sit in limbo, China keeps moving. It is already the world’s largest chemical producer — roughly four times the size of our industry — and it builds new plants in a fraction of the time.
Every day this backlog drags on, China gets stronger and America falls further behind. Here is a real-world example. One American chemical manufacturer developed breakthrough cooling technology for the high-performance chips that power AI data centers.
But because of delays and uncertainty in the EPA federal review process, that product is now being made overseas. Think about that. America is in a race with China to win on artificial intelligence, and our own red tape pushed an
American innovation overseas.
Let’s be clear: this is not about weakening safety standards. America’s chemical safety protections are strong, and they should remain strong.
The problem is a slow, unpredictable bureaucracy that has drifted away from sound science and toward worst-case guesswork.
Real science means judging chemistries on facts, evidence, and real-world use, not the fear-based speculation that can block American progress. When Washington puts ideology ahead of evidence, innovation stalls and jobs move overseas.
The good news is that this can be fixed. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin deserves credit for recognizing the problem and starting to move the agency in a better direction.
Early signs are promising: at a recent Senate hearing, Zeldin said the agency expects to approve more premanufacture notices (PMNs) — new chemical submissions — in 2026 than in any of the past five years.
But administrative improvements alone are not enough.
What one administration improves, another can undo.
If we want TSCA to work consistently for American workers, manufacturers, and consumers, Congress must act. Congress also has a deadline.
The fees authority that helps fund TSCA, paid for by industry, not taxpayers, expire on Sept. 30. That gives lawmakers a timely opportunity to reauthorize fees and pair that action with targeted reforms that make the program more predictable, transparent, and grounded in sound science.
Legislative proposals are already moving in both chambers. In the House, Congressmen Brett Guthrie and Gary Palmer are advancing a bill.
In the Senate, Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and John Curtis, R-Utah, are pressing for action.
Sen. Pete Ricketts has also introduced legislation focused on restoring sound science principles to the TSCA process.
Congress has less than four months to enact TSCA improvements before this opportunity slips away.
President Trump has set a clear goal of strengthening American manufacturing, and EPA is taking important steps. Now Congress must finish the job and make these improvements before Sept. 30.
American chemistry helped build this nation. Let's keep building it here in America, by Americans, for Americans.
Congress must act swiftly to fix TSCA, strengthen U.S. competitiveness, and keep American manufacturing moving forward.
Chris Jahn is the President & CEO of the American Chemistry Council (ACC).