On Wednesday, November 5, 2025, the Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments on executive tariff authority, a case that promises to have ripple effects far beyond the bounds of pure trade law. Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, Inc., No. 25-250. In the chemical sector -- where global chemical feedstocks, complex supply chains, and regulatory compliance are already famously complicated -- the stakes are especially high. If the Court limits or invalidates the President’s ability unilaterally...
Insights on policy developments affecting industrial and agricultural chemicals and the products they make possible
As the federal government endures another prolonged shutdown, uncertainty is rippling through every agency, with the impact clearly visible at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). With only a fraction of staff on duty and most routine operations halted, the chemical and pesticide regulatory landscape faces a new round of challenges in both the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) and the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP). EPA’s September 29, 2025, contingency plan...
September 30, 2025
Looming Government Shutdown Could Disrupt Chemical Regulation under TSCA
As Congress edges closer to another potential government shutdown, questions loom large about how federal agencies will manage critical regulatory responsibilities. For the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), even a short lapse in appropriations and critical staffing could have significant consequences for the implementation of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). TSCA is built around statutory deadlines. For example, there are strict timelines for new chemical reviews under Section...
Given the cancellation of an expected meeting between President Trump and the congressional Democratic leadership, it appears there will not be any agreement about appropriations for fiscal year (FY) 2026 before the start of the new FY. Absent enacted funding past September 30, 2025, a federal shutdown will begin at 12:01 a.m. (EDT) on October 1, 2025. Now What? There was hope for a Continuing Resolution (CR) of some length that would have allowed negotiations to continue about funding the new...
September 18, 2025
Proposed Cuts to Wind Energy Undermine Investment Certainty across Sectors
In recent weeks, the Trump Administration has taken a series of actions to curtail federal support for offshore wind development. The most visible step was the U.S. Department of Transportation’s cancellation of roughly $679 million in funding for 12 offshore wind projects across 11 states. In addition, the Administration halted construction of the nearly complete $4 billion Revolution Wind project serving Rhode Island and Connecticut, citing national security concerns. An earlier executive...
The Make America Healthy Again Commission (MAHA) draft report, released on May 22, 2025, was a spectacular mix of damning claims and interesting “facts.” They all relate to the horrific state of the American diet, manipulation by vested interests controlling Congress, co-opted food safety and drug approval regulatory agencies, with a literally sick population of children addicted to ultra-processed food, electronic screens, and drugs pushed by the medical establishment. The root cause of...
August 18, 2025
The Hidden Risk of Diminished Environmental Data: Could the United States Lose Its “Low-Risk” Status under the EUDR?
The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), in force since January 1, 2024, mandates that “relevant commodities” linked to deforestation -- including cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya, and wood -- must not enter the European Union (EU) market unless documented as deforestation-free. A central pillar of the EUDR is its Country Classification List, placing nations into low-risk, standard-risk, or high-risk categories based on governance quality, deforestation rates, and,...
On July 18, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rolled out the “reorganization plan” for its Office of Research and Development (ORD). The stated goal of the plan is to reduce budget expenditures, improve “science,” and have EPA’s research activities better support the work of the media offices, including the Office of Water (OW), Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), and Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). The EPA press release refers to the...
On June 23, 2025, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced that it issued agency guidance for implementing Gold Standard Science in the conduct and management of scientific activities. As reported in our June 5, 2025, memorandum, on May 27, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) on “Restoring Gold Standard Science.” The EO restores the scientific integrity policies of the first Trump Administration and “ensures that agencies practice data...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been around for more than 150 years, stressing the importance of American agriculture to a bountiful food production system since Abraham Lincoln first signed it into being in 1862. Lincoln himself, in fact, in his 1864 final annual message to Congress, christened USDA “the people’s Department,” just before commending it “to the continued attention and fostering care of Congress.” From industrialization to the mechanization of farming,...