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“Manufacturing in the U.S. has momentum”—and to keep it going, manufacturers will need to push, NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons said Tuesday in the NAM’s annual State of Manufacturing Address.
 
What’s going on: Speaking to an audience of manufacturers and congressional and state officials at Armstrong World Industries in Hilliard, Ohio, Timmons, who was joined by NAM Board Chair and Johnson & Johnson Executive Vice President and Chief Technical Operations & Risk Officer Kathy Wengel, emphasized the “defining moment” for the industry and said that for manufacturing, “what happens next really matters.”

• “Uncertainty is the enemy of investment,” he told the crowd. “Manufacturing is a capital-intensive industry. We make decisions months and years in advance. … That’s why we need certainty. We need a clear, actionable, multistep strategy from our government—one that says, ‘We want you to invest here, hire here and succeed here.’”
• Timmons’ annual speech kicked off the NAM’s 2025 Competing to Win Tour, starting with a whirlwind four-states-in-four-days tour of manufacturing facilities, schools, government offices and more.
• “In Ohio, manufacturers have thrived because our leaders have taken decisive actions to keep our industry competitive,” Ohio Manufacturers’ Association President Ryan Augsburger said at the kickoff event. But now, “manufacturers across Ohio and the nation are facing critical challenges, from tax uncertainty, project delays and workforce shortages to supply chain vulnerabilities and price pressures that threaten our ability to grow. … These issues cannot wait.”

What manufacturing needs: Certainty from the federal government should come in several forms, Timmons said, including the following:

• Preserving tax reform: The 2017 tax reforms were “rocket fuel” for manufacturing in America—but key provisions have expired and others are scheduled to sunset. Congress must bring them back and improve and extend the package. “Every day that Congress delays because of process and politics, manufacturers face rising uncertainty, delayed investments and fewer jobs,” said Timmons.
• Regulatory clarity and consistency: Manufacturers today spend a total of $350 billion just to comply with regulations. “Commonsense regulation is critical to American manufacturers to continue to innovate, to compete against foreign manufacturers and to improve the lives of American citizens,” Austin So, general counsel, head of government relations and chief sustainability officer for Armstrong World Industries, told the crowd.
• Permitting reform: President Trump’s lifting of the liquefied natural gas export permit ban was a start, but to reach our full potential as energy leader, we must require “federal agencies to make faster decisions and reduc[e] baseless litigation,” said Timmons.
• Energy dominance: “America should be the undisputed leader in energy production and innovation. But … we are seeing opportunities for energy dominance fade in the face of a permitting process that takes 80% longer than other major, developed nations,” Timmons said, adding that we must cut red tape, require federal agencies to make faster decisions and reduce meritless litigation.   
• Workforce strategy: By 2033, manufacturing faces a shortfall of 1.9 million manufacturing employees, Timmons said. To fill those positions, the sector needs a “real workforce strategy,” one that includes apprenticeships, training programs and public–private partnerships.
• Commonsense trade policy: If President Trump continues to use tariffs, “we need a commonsense policy … that provides manufacturers with the certainty to invest” and “a clear runway to adjust,” according to Timmons.

State of manufacturing: “Manufacturing in the United States is moving forward,” Timmons said. “Like a press at full speed, like a production line firing on all cylinders, like the workers who show up before dawn and leave long after the job is done—manufacturing in the United States is driving us forward.” And Timmons added that now it’s time “to make America Great for Manufacturing Again.”

On the move: Following the speech, Timmons, Wengel and Augsburger joined state lawmakers, including state Sens. Kristina Roegner and Andrew Brenner, and local business leaders for a visit to the Ohio Statehouse for an event focused on the importance of tax reform for Ohio and its manufacturing sector.

• A recent NAM study found that, if key provisions of tax reform are allowed to expire, Ohio would risk losing 208,000 jobs and $18.9 billion in wages.

What’s at stake: Tax reform was transformational for Humtown Products, the Columbiana, Ohio–based family-owned sand cores and molds manufacturer, President and CEO Mark Lamoncha told the audience at the Ohio Statehouse tax event.

• “We have been at the forefront of 3D-printed manufacturing for years and have invested significantly in the machinery and equipment required, including the purchase of 3D printers—one of which can easily cost over $1 million,” he said.
• “Since the 2017 tax reform, Humtown has invested over $9 million in capital expenditures related to 3D printing and averages around $100,000 annually in R&D costs. Under the 2017 tax reform, we were able to deduct 100% of those costs, generating around $1.6 million in accelerated tax savings.”
• “That amount alone allowed us to purchase another 3D printer, fueling continued growth. That’s what tax certainty allowed us to do. But right now, that certainty is slipping away. As these provisions begin to expire, our tax burden is increasing.”

Creators Wanted: The group also fit in a stop at Columbus State Community College, which serves approximately 41,000 students, to visit with students in the semiconductor and mechanical drive classes.
 
The last word: The NAM recently “stood shoulder-to-shoulder with congressional leaders—delivering a clear, urgent message on tax reform” and is “driving the agenda on regulatory certainty, on energy dominance, on permitting reform, health care and workforce development,” Wengel told the audience. “The NAM is not waiting for Washington to act; we are making sure Washington acts for you, for manufacturers.”

• Added NAM Executive Vice President Erin Streeter: “The NAM is on [these issues], and we’re going to keep fighting, as we do every day with the right leaders, the right strategies and the right vision for the future.”

The introduction of artificial intelligence has been a boon to manufacturing, and the technology will continue to have a positive impact—as long as regulations are “right-sized,” manufacturers told Congress this week.

What’s going on: “Manufacturers are utilizing AI in myriad ways on the shop floor and throughout their operations,” the NAM told the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade in a statement for the record at Wednesday’s hearing, where data was cited.

• “The diverse use-cases of AI in manufacturing suggest a need for a cautious regulatory approach to this groundbreaking technology: one that supports innovation and U.S. leadership in AI while providing context-specific, risk-based, right-sized rules of the road for manufacturers,” the NAM said.
• Giving testimony at the hearing, Siemens USA President and CEO and NAM Board Member Barbara Humpton discussed the many benefits of using AI in manufacturing and emphasized the need to ensure that AI regulations include “targeted” rather than “overly broad” definitions.

Industrial vs. consumer-focused AI: First, it’s important to distinguish between industrial and consumer-facing AI, Humpton told the subcommittee members.

• “Industrial AI is different from consumer AI,” she said. “Industrial AI uses controlled data from the manufacturing environment to help manufacturers create business value. Think better products, more efficient operations, a more prepared workforce. … AI will enable all companies—from startups to small and medium enterprises to industrial giants—to thrive in this new era of American manufacturing.”
• In written testimony, she added that “the core distinction of industrial AI is that it is trained on highly monitored data from sensors and machines, providing a more reliable foundation for training AI models.”

Simple, singular and targeted: Regulation of AI should be undertaken with a light touch and following a full accounting of on-the-books laws to prevent duplicative and/or contradictory rules, the NAM said.

• “[P]olicymakers should always review existing laws and regulations before enacting new ones, because most uses of AI correspond to tasks and objectives that industry has faced for a long time and that are thus highly likely to have already been addressed by existing laws and regulations,” said the NAM, which also referenced its first-of-its-kind AI report, “Working Smarter: How Manufacturers Are Using Artificial Intelligence,” released last May.
• “Similarly, policymakers must right-size any compliance burden associated with AI regulation,” the NAM continued. “The ubiquitous use of AI throughout modern manufacturing, as well as manufacturing’s dependence on innovation, underscore the need for rules that enable rather than hinder manufacturers’ development and adoption of AI systems.”

Protect without hindering: Congress “must advance industrial AI by prioritizing strong rules for digital trade, especially to include strong protections for source code and algorithms,” Humpton went on in her written testimony. “We encourage policymakers to build upon the success of previous U.S.-led efforts to protect intellectual property.”

• Legislators must also safeguard privacy and protect against baseless legal claims, the NAM said. “[I]t is … crucial that Congress take steps to maintain the privacy of personal data when utilized in AI contexts. … A federal standard should avoid a patchwork of state-level rules by fully preempting state privacy laws; it also should protect manufacturers from frivolous litigation.”

The last word: “The range and importance of uses of AI—transforming every aspect of the core of manufacturers’ operations—make it clear that AI has become integral to manufacturing,” said the NAM. “With the right federal policies, manufacturers in the U.S. will continue to devise new and exciting ways to leverage AI to lead and innovate and stay ahead of their global competitors.”

Manufacturers have one last opportunity to express their opinions to the new administration and Congress before they take office: the NAM’s Q4 2024 Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey, which is open until Dec. 4.

“The Outlook Survey is the NAM’s principal means of finding out what manufacturers are experiencing and thinking, and one of the industry’s most potent advocacy tools,” the NAM’s new chief economist, Victoria Bloom, said. Bloom walked us through the survey’s impressive history of influencing policy debates and its particular importance today. 

What it is: The NAM has run its Outlook Survey every quarter for more than 25 years, capturing manufacturers’ opinions on enormous policy shifts and seismic changes in the economy, including the 2017 tax reform and the COVID-19 shutdowns, Bloom said.

• All manufacturers in the NAM’s membership are eligible to take it, making it an unparalleled sampling of industry opinion. Respondents include companies of all sizes and sectors, located across the entire United States.
• The survey is in the field for about two and a half weeks and takes only minutes to complete—you can even do it on your phone. 

Why it matters: Not only will the current survey be the last word from manufacturers before the White House and Congress change hands, but it will help provide clarity on where manufacturers stand in this period of economic uncertainty. It’s crucial for manufacturers to speak up about what they are seeing, Bloom emphasized.

• “We’ve had a lot of muddied economic data lately due to worker strikes and hurricanes, as reflected in the monthly jobs report and industrial production report,” she said. “This has made it more difficult to determine how the industry is actually doing, which is why we need manufacturers to tell us directly.”

Who’s the audience: The NAM’s survey is read—and publicized—by the highest levels of the administration and Congress. To take one example, it had a profound impact during the years following tax reform:

• President Trump cited the Outlook Survey in a 2019 address at the Lima Army Tank Plant, noting manufacturers’ record levels of optimism following the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
• John Thune (R-SD), the incoming Senate majority leader, cited the survey in a 2018 press release, also on the benefits of tax reform.
• Then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) cited the survey on the Senate floor in 2018.

What’s in it: The survey asks a few standard questions, including the big one: are manufacturers feeling positive or negative about their company’s outlook?

• The survey also asks manufacturers about the biggest challenges they’re facing. In the Q3 2024 survey, the top concerns included a weaker domestic economy, followed by rising health care costs.
• These standard questions are often followed by questions that pertain to specific policy developments, like the looming expiration of critical tax provisions in 2025, or manufacturers’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The data: The survey’s questions often reveal facts about manufacturers that appear nowhere else.

• For example, Bloom told us, in Q3 2024, respondents as a whole felt most concerned by the weakening state of the economy. However, small and medium-sized manufacturers, when separated out, cited rising health care costs as their top concern.
• “The survey told us rising health care costs have been a more significant challenge for SMMs, which is an important data point for the NAM’s advocacy work,” Bloom said.
• During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the survey was a particularly valuable tool, she added. Amid the chaos of the lockdowns, the NAM was able to survey its members to determine what share of manufacturers were continuing operations in whole, in part or not at all.

The bottom line: “As we will soon have a new administration and a new Congress, manufacturers must speak up—and keep speaking up—about their challenges and concerns,” Bloom concluded.

• “Future Outlook Surveys will cover new developments as they arise, and of course manufacturers will be faced with new challenges and policy threats. If they haven’t already, NAM members should make survey-taking a habit, for the health of our industry.”

The NAM achieved a significant victory in court Wednesday in a case that sought to bring needed oversight to proxy advisory firms—and, more broadly, to ensure regulatory certainty for manufacturers.

The background: Proxy firms make recommendations regarding the way shareholders should vote on proxy ballot proposals that come before public companies.

• These firms operate with minimal oversight despite their outsized influence and even though their decisions can have significant and sometimes harmful impacts.

The fight: In 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission finalized an NAM-backed rule that included a range of modest but critical reforms to proxy firms’ business models.

• In particular, the 2020 rule ensured that companies had more information about the firms’ voting recommendations and provided investors with companies’ responses to those recommendations.
• But in 2022, the SEC rescinded critical portions of that rule.
• The NAM sued the SEC, asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to strike down this arbitrary and capricious agency action.

The victory: This week—in news covered by Reuters, POLITICO Pro (subscription), Law360 (subscription), Pensions & Investments (subscription) and Bloomberg (subscription)—the Fifth Circuit ruled in the NAM’s favor, deciding that the SEC acted unlawfully in rescinding the 2020 rule. In particular, the court made two critical points:

• The court held that the SEC’s stated justification for its decisions to rescind NAM-supported proxy firm reforms didn’t pass muster and called the agency’s reasoning “facially irrational” and not “reasonable [or] reasonably explained.”
• The court also ruled that a government agency reversing course despite no change in its underlying factual findings must “explain its about-face” by “giv[ing] a more detailed explanation” than the SEC provided.
• This ruling builds on existing case law that prevents agencies from arbitrarily reversing policies after administrations change, thus encouraging regulatory certainty for manufacturers.

Our take: “This decision confirms that federal agencies are bound by the rule of law, even as administrations change,” said NAM Chief Legal Officer Linda Kelly.

• “Manufacturers depend on the SEC to be a steady regulatory hand at the wheel of America’s world-leading capital markets—an obligation the agency abandoned in rescinding the commonsense, compromise 2020 proxy advisory firm rule. … We will continue to fight in court to uphold the 2020 rule—and to work with the SEC and with Congress to ensure appropriate oversight of these powerful actors.”

The NAM and the American Chemistry Council yesterday filed a petition challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s first-ever national drinking water standard limiting the presence of six types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.

What’s going on: The organizations are seeking to overturn the final rule—issued in April by the EPA—in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on the grounds that it exceeds the agency’s authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 and “is arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion,” in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.

• Under the rule, PFAS in municipal water systems are limited to near-zero levels. Systems nationwide will have three years to monitor for the chemicals and two subsequent years to install technology to reduce the compounds’ levels in the water.
• The water systems will (and, in fact, have already begun to) sue manufacturers to cover their costs. Meanwhile, plaintiffs’ attorneys are using the standard in product liability and greenwashing suits against manufacturers.
• PFAS are a diverse group of chemicals that have been used widely for decades due to their unique ability to douse fires and resist grease, stains and corrosion. Today they’re a key component in a wide range of critical products, from semiconductors, to the components of the electrical grid, to renewable-energy production equipment.

Why it’s problematic: The final regulation of PFAS “is wholly infeasible and threatens these vital substances’ continued application in manufacturing processes,” said NAM Chief Legal Officer Linda Kelly, adding that the agency’s rulemaking is based “on a deeply flawed cost-benefit analysis” and fails to follow Safe Drinking Water Act procedure and other statutory requirements.

• “In many instances, there is no viable alternative for these chemicals, and companies may be forced to change plans dramatically” to follow the new rule, NAM Managing Vice President of Policy Chris Netram said in April.
• “In everyday life, including emergency situations like a fire or operating room circumstance, there’s a real reliance on these products—it’s not just about job losses and costs but fundamental decisions that have widespread ramifications,” Netram added recently.

What should be done: The rule should be vacated as soon as possible, the NAM and the ACC told the court.

As government regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ramps up worldwide, Thermo Fisher Scientific is seeing a boom in its PFAS testing business.

“We’ve seen an increase in demand from a number of countries in the Americas and in Europe,” said Toby Astill, director of environmental and food safety in chromatography and mass spectrometry at the life sciences giant. “Those regions are driving more discussions around current and future regulations than other regions.”

• In recent weeks, the Environmental Protection Agency has issued several final rules concerning PFAS. These include the first-ever national regulation limiting PFAS in drinking water to near-zero levels and, just last week, the designation of two PFAS chemicals as hazardous substances under the Superfund law.

Writing is on the wall: Thermo Fisher foresaw the need for comprehensive PFAS analysis early on. That’s why it’s been offering clients a full suite of testing capabilities for more than a decade.

• Commonly called “forever chemicals” because they do not break down easily in the environment, PFAS were used widely in everyday products starting in the 1940s, owing to their ability to put out fires and resist grease, corrosion and stains in addition to countless other consumer and industrial applications.
• Using chromatography—“technology that allows lab users to separate and analyze the different components in samples,” according to Astill—Thermo Fisher can “confirm the presence of a specific substance and determine how much is there.”
• The tech is not limited to PFAS, however; it can also detect, down to parts per trillion, the presence of pesticides, heavy metals and other substances, Astill said. And it works on samples of almost anything, including food packaging, water and even air.

Aiding compliance: In coming years, manufacturers may need to analyze their PFAS exposure comprehensively to remain compliant with Toxic Substances Control Act and other international regulations, including those from the EPA, Astill said.

• In 2021, the EPA released its PFAS Strategic Roadmap, addressing the entire lifecycle of PFAS.
• Early last year, the agency proposed the first federal limits on PFAS, instituting maximum allowable levels for six substances in drinking water.
• In January, it finalized an “inactive PFAS” rule, mandating that any company wishing to manufacture or import PFAS chemicals that haven’t been made in years must first get approval from the EPA.
• That’s where testing comes in. “Manufacturers will want to figure out their [level of] PFAS exposure—whether it’s from their supply chains or the products they’re making,” Astill went on. “Because we see an evolving regulatory landscape, manufacturers need to have a baseline of where they are today, in 2024. That way they’re more prepared for regulatory compliance, and if needed, can review data retrospectively to understand trends. In fact, in October 2023, the EPA issued a mandatory one-time reporting rule on most PFAS manufactured or imported into the U.S. since 2011.”
• This February, the EPA proposed two regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act that added nine PFAS to the list of RCRA hazardous constituents with superfund implications. 

Smart legislation: Thermo Fisher recognizes that we still have much to learn about PFAS chemicals, including whether many of them are harmful in the first place and whether there are practicable alternatives. In light of the many unknowns, the company recommends that legislators take a judicious approach to their regulation.

• “We don’t yet know everything about PFAS or all the PFAS” in existence, said Astill. “We need longer-term studies so we understand what we need to regulate and what we need to measure—be it in manufacturing materials or water—before we start regulating more.”
• Forthcoming regulations should also take into account the difficulty and expense of implementing PFAS remediation solutions, she added. “Legislators and regulators should consider the fact that this is not an easy feat for companies.”

Working on an alternative: While Thermo Fisher is not involved directly in inventing alternatives to PFAS, it is working actively with organizations that are doing just that, and it’s optimistic about the outcomes.

• “It’s [been] very difficult to find something with equal properties that is less of a potential health and environmental issue,” Astill said. “But what we have is a lot of intelligent global groups collaborating to share testing data and understand what potential replacement materials make sense—and that’s a tremendous opportunity.”

As government regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ramps up worldwide, Thermo Fisher Scientific is seeing a boom in its PFAS testing business.

“We’ve seen an increase in demand from a number of countries in the Americas and in Europe,” said Toby Astill, director of environmental and food safety in chromatography and mass spectrometry at the life sciences giant. “Those regions are driving more discussions around current and future regulations than other regions.”

• In recent weeks, the Environmental Protection Agency has issued several final rules concerning PFAS. These include the first-ever national regulation limiting PFAS in drinking water to near-zero levels and, just last week, the designation of two PFAS chemicals as hazardous substances under the Superfund law.

Writing is on the wall: Thermo Fisher foresaw the need for comprehensive PFAS analysis early on. That’s why it’s been offering clients a full suite of testing capabilities for more than a decade.

• Commonly called “forever chemicals” because they do not break down easily in the environment, PFAS were used widely in everyday products starting in the 1940s, owing to their ability to put out fires and resist grease, corrosion and stains in addition to countless other consumer and industrial applications.
• Using chromatography—“technology that allows lab users to separate and analyze the different components in samples,” according to Astill—Thermo Fisher can “confirm the presence of a specific substance and determine how much is there.”
• The tech is not limited to PFAS, however; it can also detect, down to parts per trillion, the presence of pesticides, heavy metals and other substances, Astill said. And it works on samples of almost anything, including food packaging, water and even air.

Aiding compliance: In coming years, manufacturers may need to analyze their PFAS exposure comprehensively to remain compliant with Toxic Substances Control Act and other international regulations, including those from the EPA, Astill said.

Read the full story here.

In a move that will hinder the growth of manufacturing in the U.S., according to the NAM, the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday designated two widely used chemicals as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, or Superfund law, Law360 (subscription) reports.

What’s going on: The addition of two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, to the federal list “means the EPA can investigate and clean up releases of the chemicals and ensure that leaks, spills and other releases are reported. Under CERCLA, the government and other parties can sue for contributions to cleanups and to recover costs related to those actions.”

• The newly added PFAS are perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, or PFOS. PFAS have been used across industries for decades for their unmatched ability to douse fires and resist corrosion, stains and grease.
• The news comes the same month the EPA announced the first-ever national regulation limiting PFAS levels in drinking water to near-zero levels.

What’s in it: “The rule requires entities to immediately report releases of PFOA and PFOS that meet or exceed the ‘reportable quantity’ to the National Response Center, state or tribal emergency response commission, and the local or tribal emergency planning committee, according to the EPA.”

Why it’s problematic: “[T]his unprecedented use of CERCLA authority by the EPA will only hamper President Biden’s vision of growing the manufacturing sector in the U.S.,”  NAM Managing Vice President of Policy Chris Netram said, adding that manufacturers support smart efforts to remove harmful substances from the environment.

• “The unique and unmatched chemical bond of these compounds means that there are no existing replacements for the critical products they make up.”
• Furthermore, the overly broad designation of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous “will make it harder for our industry to create innovative products and jobs.”

Sales of previously owned homes in the U.S. declined in March, CNN reports.

What’s going on: “Existing home sales, which make up the majority of the housing market, fell 4.3% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.19 million, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday.”

• The median price for a previously owned home last month was $393,500, an increase of 4.8% from March 2023, which was the highest on record.
• The only region of the country to see an increase in existing home sales last month was the Northeast.

Why it’s happening: Higher list prices combined with still-elevated mortgage rates continue to make home purchasing difficult for Americans.

What it means: “Though rebounding from cyclical lows, home sales are stuck because interest rates have not made any major moves,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

• However, “[t]here are nearly six million more jobs now compared to pre-Covid highs, which suggests more aspiring homebuyers exist in the market.”

Municipal water systems will soon be required to remove six types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, from drinking water, The New York Times (subscription) reports.

• But the move could backfire and have adverse effects on manufacturers, the NAM said Thursday.

What’s going on: The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday announced the first-ever national rule limiting PFAS “to near-zero levels.”

• PFAS are compounds that have been used for decades due to their rare ability to douse fires and resist grease, corrosion and stains. They’re found in everything from semiconductors to medical devices and renewable-energy production equipment.
• But under the new mandate water systems across the U.S. will have three years to monitor the chemicals and a further two years to put into place technology to reduce the compounds’ levels in the water.
• The utilities “would be required to notify the public and reduce contamination if levels exceeded the new standard of 4 parts per trillion for [PFOA and PFOS]. Previously, the agency had advised that drinking water contain no more than 70 parts per trillion of the chemicals.”

The background: The rule comes just over a year after the EPA proposed the first federal limits on two PFAS chemicals, known as PFOA and PFOS.

The funding: The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law set aside $9 billion to help communities with PFAS removal. The government will make $1 billion of it available to states and territories to help defray the cost of testing and treatment over the next few years.

Higher prices, less security: The new standard is wholly infeasible, NAM Managing Vice President of Policy Chris Netram said, and will lead to cost increases throughout the supply chain and make our national defense more difficult.

• “In many instances, there is no viable alternative for these chemicals, and companies may be forced to change plans dramatically” to comply with the new rule, he said. “The severity of the proposed regulations will mean higher prices for everything—community water and waste systems, medical treatments and electronics. More alarming, the regulations will make it more difficult to produce the equipment our military needs to defend our nation.”

What we’re doing: The NAM is weighing legal options for reversing the final rule, according to Netram.