Proclamation

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

1. The United States relies on a strong chemical manufacturing sector to support industries like energy, national defense, agriculture, and health care. These facilities produce essential inputs for critical infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, medical sterilization, semiconductors, and national defense systems. Maintaining a robust domestic chemical industry is vital to safeguarding the supply chains that underpin our economy and to reducing the Nation’s dependence on foreign control over materials critical to national resilience. As adversaries expand influence over key inputs, continued domestic production is essential not only to economic resilience but also to military readiness, public health, and national preparedness.

2. On May 16, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency published a final rule titled New Source Performance Standards for the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry and Group I & II Polymers and Resins Industry, 89 FR 42932(HON Rule). The HON Rule imposes new emissions-control requirements on certain chemical manufacturing facilities, some of which were promulgated pursuant to section 112 of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7412.

3. The HON Rule imposes substantial burdens on chemical manufacturers already operating under stringent regulations. Many of the testing and monitoring requirements outlined in the HON Rule rely on technologies that are not practically available, not demonstrated at the necessary scale, or cannot be implemented safely or consistently under real-world conditions. For many facilities, the timeline for compliance as set forth in the HON Rule at 89 FR 42953-42955 would require shutdowns or massive capital investments before any proven pathway to compliance exists. The HON Rule imposes requirements that assume uniform technological availability across facilities, despite significant variation in site conditions, permitting realities, and equipment configurations. A disruption of this capacity would weaken key supply chains, increase dependence on foreign producers, and impair our ability to respond effectively in a time of crisis. These consequences would ripple across sectors vital to America’s growing industrial strength and emergency readiness.