Nearly everything you touch starts with chemistry

Your cellphones, vehicles, home appliances and much more start with chemistry. For instance, the semiconductor chip that powers your smartphone requires at least 500 different chemistries to create.¹ None of these products and technological advances would be possible without chemistry.

These products and innovations are also not possible without workers up and down the chemical value chain. Chemical manufacturing in the United States supports a quarter of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) overall, according to one government agency’s findings, and creates more than half a million skilled, high-paying American jobs. The report also found that for every chemistry industry job, more than six jobs are supported elsewhere in the economy.²

A stronger America depends on chemistry

Producing chemicals in the United States helps support national priorities, like semiconductor manufacturing, energy independence, modern health care, infrastructure and more. Americans want a stronger, more affordable America – and businesses and families rely on the products made possible by chemistry. Achieving these goals requires regulatory policies that recognize and support the vital role of chemistry in our economy and everyday lives.

In a survey,³ three-quarters of American voters believe the chemical sector is essential to the U.S. economy, domestic goods production and economic edge against foreign countries. In the same survey, two-thirds of Americans are concerned that additional regulations on the industry would harm the economy, domestic goods production and our competitive edge.

The U.S. must win the race for producing more chemistry

With over $600 billion worth of shipments in 2023, the U.S. accounts for nearly 12 percent of the world’s total chemical production.⁴ Today, the U.S. is the world’s second largest chemical producer after China. Over the next decade, U.S. capacity is expected to grow by only about 10 percent while demand is expected to grow by 15 percent. Over that same time period, however, China’s chemical producing capacity is projected to increase by more than a third.⁵

Supporting more domestic chemical production will help bolster the sector’s trade surplus, increase global supply chain resiliency and help bring stability to the domestic economy and jobs market. If the U.S. can continue to export more chemicals than it imports, the U.S. along with global allies will avoid being net-dependent on foreign markets.

Simply put, the chemical industry warns that without taking action on pro-growth policies, the incoming administration and Congress could provide other countries a competitive edge in the global marketplace.

Learning from past policy missteps to build a more prosperous America

Chemical manufacturing is the most heavily regulated subsector of manufacturing, and the volume of regulations has doubled in the past 20 years.⁶ As was evident during the Biden administration, a sharp rise in additional regulatory restrictions and a lack of coordination among branches of the federal government can handicap the ability to develop and make chemicals here in America. The industry contends that too often over the past four years, policies have been made in a vacuum, not accounting for the ripple effects restricting chemical production can have on manufacturing, the availability of everyday products and across the broader economy.

A survey of American Chemistry Council (ACC) member companies found that 70 percent of respondents decided to introduce new chemicals outside of the U.S., given the uncertainties and challenges of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) New Chemicals Program.⁷

ACC asserts that a smarter, pro-growth regulatory process is needed. To be effective, policymakers must recognize the intricate relationships across industries and the essential role that chemistry plays in the economy and achieving U.S. priorities.

Make America a chemical manufacturing superpower

Policymakers should heed what has happened in Europe. ACC warns that ill-conceived regulations and energy policy in Europe contributed to the deindustrialization of the EU across most manufacturing sectors. Europe’s share of worldwide chemical production is half of what it was only two decades ago.⁸ The Trump administration and Congress should not make the same mistake.

The chemical industry has a request for the incoming administration to adopt pro-growth policies that:

1. Drive predictable, transparent, fact-based policies
2. Foster more production in the U.S., not elsewhere
3. Prioritize energy independence and bolster our sector’s trade surplus
4. Safeguard our communities and incentivize job creation
5. Protect our national security and supply chains

When the U.S. commits to pro-growth regulatory policies and legislative incentives, the American economy expands and manufacturing thrives.

Prioritizing American chemistry puts America first. Growing U.S. chemical production will help make America the world’s manufacturing superpower, as well as incentivize domestic job creation and thwart the potential to become reliant on foreign countries for raw materials and goods.