From healthcare to infrastructure: How America’s national priorities rely on chemistry
From healthcare to infrastructure: How America’s national priorities rely on chemistry
By WP Creative Group
February 15, 2024
The first-ever disease-modifying drug to slow Alzheimer’s received full FDA approval last year. The driving force behind this innovation? Chemistry. The U.S. amped up its solar power production by 53 percent in 2023.1 The field powering this clean energy win? Chemistry. A key national strategy in winning the U.S. “tech war” against China,2 President Biden says, is to boost American production of semiconductor chips. The industry on the front lines? That’s right: Chemistry.
The Biden administration’s key economic policies rely on the $639-billion chemistry sector, too: The White House’s stated national priorities invoke a future where technologies like semiconductors, electric cars, clean energy and innovative construction materials are manufactured in the U.S., giving the country a competitive edge over economic rivals. But according to Chris Jahn, the president and CEO of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), there’s an obstacle in America’s path of progress: Regulatory policy that oversteps its bounds and risks stifling innovation and productivity.
“Chemical manufacturing is the most heavily regulated subsector of manufacturing3 and the volume of regulations has doubled in the past 20 years,” Jahn added, citing ACC research.4 “We want federal regulators to ensure regulations are necessary, specific and effective — or they risk slowing down innovation.”
This is more important than ever, Jahn said, as chemical makers strive to keep up the pace: While the U.S. has always been a global economic leader, its market share in chemical sales shrank by more than 20 percent between 2011 and 2021, while China’s grew by 46 percent.5
To meet this administration’s stated national priorities — semiconductors, infrastructure, healthcare, defense, agriculture, biotechnology and others — and to avoid offshoring jobs, production and supply chains, Jahn said, U.S. regulators must reassess policies that slow down or drain resources from those innovating in these fields, which support over 25 percent of the nation’s overall GDP.6
Here are seven ways the chemical industry is vital to U.S. economic growth — and giving the nation a competitive edge.
Healthcare
U.S. chemical manufacturers are innovating to help treat and cure diseases, improve diagnostics and preventive care, and to make healthcare overall more affordable and accessible. Chemists produce substances and materials critical to medical supplies and machines, pharmaceutical-grade oxygen, lifesaving pharmaceuticals and vaccines, medical devices, implants and more. They also produce chemistries used in high-purity air cleaning and biocides to improve patient safety.
According to a survey conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of ACC, most Americans agree federal lawmakers should prioritize access to healthcare, among other voter priorities, when considering new restrictions on the U.S. chemical sector. And more than 60 percent of those polled were concerned overregulation on the chemical sector could further limit Americans’ access to medicine and the healthcare system.7
Semiconductors
Know what it takes to create a semiconductor? Chemical innovations from silicon crystals to wafer cutting, polishing technology and etching substances. No fewer than 500 highly specialized chemicals go into the manufacture of a single semiconductor chip.
The Biden administration has stated that American innovation and productivity in the semiconductor industry is a chance to gain ground on global rivals, namely China.8 Thus, the industry has seen nearly $150 million in total business investment under Biden as of 2022, and semiconductor research has been kicked into hyperdrive. But according to ACC analysis, the administration is also considering imposing hundreds of millions in new regulation costs on the chemical industry,9 eating away at this opportunity.
Clean energy
Chemistry fuels clean energy. U.S. chemical manufacturers produce materials in electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels, carbon capture technology and other green innovations.
However, according to data from the ACC, the Biden administration has proposed 13 “economically significant” rules (agency rules expected to have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more) expected to weigh down the American chemistry sector with an estimated $6.94 billion in newly added annual regulatory costs.9
Agriculture
Food insecurity is one of the world’s biggest challenges. In the U.S., it’s chemical manufacturers who make key ingredients in fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides and herbicides, and who create materials that help boost crop production, enable irrigation and improve greenhouse construction and function.
More innovation in agricultural chemistry means more efficient, sustainable, resilient and affordable food production by American farmers. However, a new wave of regulatory rules could drive up the cost of production — and prices for consumers, according to analysis by the ACC. In their survey,7 the council found that 69 percent of people surveyed expressed concern that additional restrictions on the chemical sector at large could drive up the cost of living.
Aerospace and defense
Chemistry is key to U.S. aerospace and national defense. American chemical manufacturers produce materials used in military uniforms, including protective gear, safety helmets and shields. Chemistry makes radar and satellite communications systems, and GPS, possible. Automatic weapons, missiles, satellites and unmanned air vehicles wouldn’t be possible without chemistry.
In ACC’s survey,7 61 percent of respondents said they saw regulatory overload as harmful to technological innovation. The aerospace and defense industry’s operating budget fuels the innovation of cutting-edge new technologies that protect American soldiers, and that defend the U.S. and its allies around the world.
Infrastructure
In 2022, President Biden finalized the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law10 — a historic federal investment in rebuilding roads and bridges, providing clean drinking water and promoting access to affordable internet. The chemistry sector is central to these efforts, modernizing the way buildings, bridges, dams and water treatment facilities, roads, rail and other infrastructure are built and upgraded.
While American infrastructure is up against wear, tear and trauma from storms, sea level rise, earthquakes and wildfires, chemists are helping innovate building materials that can stand up to these factors. They’re also innovating sturdier, more sustainable construction materials that help developers build structures that are safer, greener and more affordable for homeowners and tenants. Serving the administration’s stated national priority of infrastructure involves supporting American chemistry.
Automotive
From a car’s exterior paint to its bumpers and headlights, its air conditioning system to the airbags that protect its passengers — nearly every part of a car involves something produced by a chemical manufacturer. To make cars more efficient, chemists are innovating to improve electric vehicle charging technology, and smaller, longer-lasting lithium-ion batteries.
ACC found in its survey7 that more than two-thirds of respondents agreed new laws and restrictions on the U.S. chemical sector should not come at the expense of U.S. competitiveness in the global economy. With U.S. policymakers’ support, chemical innovation in the American automotive industry can keep the nation moving — and America will be better equipped to compete with foreign automobile makers, keeping jobs in the U.S.
Bottom Line
Solvents. Adhesives. Aerosols. Synthetic fibers. They may not be listed on this week’s shopping list — but try to imagine a day without them.
“American success relies on American chemistry,” ACC’s Jahn said. To avoid price hikes, supply chain interruptions or loss of global market share to rival nations, Jahn said, the American chemistry sector hopes to see reasonable, thoroughly reviewed regulations that enable American chemistry to support America’s national priorities — and American competitiveness.
[1] US solar power capacity to expand by record 32 gigawatts in 2023, report says
[2] How the U.S.-China trade war became a conflict over the future of tech
[3] Regulatory Accumulation in the Manufacturing Sector
[5] Securing America’s Economic Future by Reining in Regulation
[6] ACC Publishes 2023 Guide to the Business of Chemistry
[7] PDF What Americans believe about regulatory overreach on the chemical sector
[9] Snapshot: Anticipated Regulation Burden/Costs Facing the Chemical Sector
Learn more about the American Chemistry Council’s “Chemistry Creates, America Competes” initiative.