Agricultural Chemical Manufacturers NAICS 3253

May 18, 2025 - Trump’s Deregulatory Agenda

• The second Trump administration's first 100 days in office have ushered in a new era of chemical regulation, characterized by a strong emphasis on deregulation and a leaner federal infrastructure, The National Law Review (NLR) reports. Central to Trump’s aggressive deregulatory agenda is a January executive order requiring “that for each new regulation issued, at least 10 prior regulations be identified for elimination.” In March, the EPA announced it will reconsider the regulation governing the review of chemicals already in commerce, a plan that may result in changes to foundational assumptions in the risk assessment methods used under the Biden administration, according to the NLR. Supporters of Trump’s deregulatory agenda argue it fosters economic growth and innovation, while critics cite potential risks to the environment and public health. As stakeholders in the EPA’S regulatory process, agricultural chemical manufacturers must monitor and adapt to these major changes.
• The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) is urging the Trump administration to provide a strategic carveout for Canadian fertilizers – including designating potash and phosphate as critical minerals – to exempt them from import tariffs. Trump imposed 25% duties on most Canadian products on March 4th before announcing a one-month reprieve on some goods, including fertilizers, two days later. The US imported nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizer products valued at more than $10 billion, more than half of which came from Canada, in 2023. Canada supplies 85% of the potash fertilizer and nearly 10% of their nitrogen fertilizer used by US growers, according to TFI. Potash prices have already risen nearly 20% this year ahead of US tariffs and phosphate prices are poised to surge more on retaliatory Canadian tariffs, Reuters reports. Higher prices for fertilizer – most farmers’ biggest input cost – would likely be passed along to growers.

• Facing tighter budgets, US farmers are trading down to generic chemicals to treat their crops, in a blow to the big agricultural chemical manufacturers, Reuters reports. Falling crop prices and rising input costs are causing US farmers to cut back on their spring planting budgets, sending shocks throughout the US agriculture sector, including companies that make pesticides and fungicides. “It’s like if you grew up eating Fruity Pebbles and now you go to Dollar General and get Fruity Bites,” Illinois grain grower Jeff O’Connor told Reuters. The pullback in spending is impacting ag chemicals companies including Bayer, Syngenta, Corteva, which are also facing increasing generic competition. The expiration of over two dozen active ingredient patents in recent years is driving a boom in off-patent use, with which now accounts for about 80% of the agrichemical market share, Rabobank agricultural analysts told Reuters.
• Employment by agricultural chemical manufacturers grew 3.2% in March compared to a year ago while the average industry wage at chemical manufacturers rose 3.9% year over year in April to $31.45 per hour, easing from its peak in January, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. While industry payrolls continue to rise, producer prices for agricultural chemical manufacturers have exhibited a flatter trend following a steep runup that began in the fourth quarter of 2020 and peaked in April 2022 after which prices dropped precipitously before plateauing. Sales for the US agricultural chemical manufacturers industry are forecast to grow at a 2.9% compounded annual rate from 2025 to 2029, slower than the growth of the overall economy, according to the Interindustry Economic Research Fund.