‘Don’t Be Europe’: American Chemistry Council CEO Details How US Can Achieve Energy Dominance

The head of a U.S. manufacturing advocacy group detailed during a Daily Caller Live event what changes to manufacturing regulations are needed to ensure American dominance over China in producing affordable, higher-quality goods.

CEO of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) Chris Jahn shared his insight Tuesday at the Daily Caller Live: American Innovation & Manufacturing Renaissance event, sponsored by the American Chemistry Council. (RELATED: GOP Rep, Panelists Lay Out Key Race Against China At Daily Caller Event)

Jahn, who leads ACC in its advocacy of “people, policy, and products of chemistry” on behalf of more than 190 companies in the nation, told Daily Caller CEO Elijah Moorman that “American success relies on American chemistry.”

He emphasized that “the entire manufacturing sector starts with chemistry,” asserting that it takes 500 specialized chemistries to produce a single computer chip.

Jahn added that despite heavy investments in the United States, policies on permitting and the Toxic Substances Control Act have made it difficult to rely on the regulatory system to obtain prompt approval of new molecules — leading companies overseas in search of a more favorable environment.

The CEO stated that although the Trump administration inherited the regulatory mess, accountability is still needed in the system. There are “no consequences for inaction” when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is delayed in reviewing applications, Jahn added.

Jahn noted that the EPA tests chemistries for every case rather than the specific circumstances and cases where they would be used.

He pointed to a bill within the legislature that he claims would address these concerns. Jahn said that despite the bill’s expiration date at the end of September, he remains “cautiously optimistic” that policy will be heading in the right direction.

Moorman asked Jahn what a successful five years of good policy would look like for American manufacturing. Jahn responded that sound policy would go a long way in closing the gap between the U.S. and China. He added that China is the number one producer of chemicals and plastics in the world.

Jahn said the United States should embrace the lessons from COVID-19, where mass shutdowns exposed U.S. vulnerabilities in America’s supply chains, as there was limited access to items produced out of the country.

“If we can reverse that trend going forward, we can withstand any shock to the system going forward, and we can have a much more resilient manufacturing supply chain here in the United States, which will lower costs for all Americans,” Jahn said. “That’s our goal.”

Jahn gave a final piece of advice to policymakers tempted to double down on unnecessary restrictions: “Don’t be Europe.”