Regulatory Reform is Badly Needed
Randy Wolken, President & CEO
We need a balanced, sensible, and pro-growth regulatory environment. President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 14219, “Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Deregulatory Initiative,” issued on February 19, directs federal agencies to conduct a top-to-bottom review of existing regulations within their jurisdiction. Within 60 days, they must identify regulations that impose significant costs that aren’t outweighed by their benefits, exceed statutory authority, disproportionately hurt small businesses, or impede innovation, research & development, economic development, and more.
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) recently submitted recommendations to key federal agencies highlighting burdensome and outdated regulations that are driving up costs and undermining manufacturing competitiveness. NAM has identified at least 44 regulations across 10 agencies that the Trump administration should consider revising or rescinding under EO 14219. NAM’s most recent recommendations build on the momentum of a December 2024 letter to the transition team from them and more than 100 manufacturing organizations, detailing regulatory actions the then incoming administration could take to fix regulations that stunted manufacturing growth and job creation. The Trump administration has acted decisively on key manufacturing priorities already including:
- Lifting the liquefied natural gas export ban
- Rescinding Securities and Exchange Commission Staff Legal Bulletin 14L
- Announcing plans to revise the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s PM2.5 and Power Plants rules
NAM’s submissions in response to EO 14219 target burdensome regulations at the following agencies: the EPA, Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of the Interior, Department of Energy, Department of Labor, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Federal Trade Commission, and Department of the Treasury.
The Trump administration is reconsidering regulations that are holding manufacturers back. Manufacturers spend $350 billion each year to comply with federal regulations — money that could be spent on expanding factories and production lines, hiring new workers, or raising wages. Manufacturers look to the administration to fix rules that cost too much, trap projects in red tape, chill investment, don’t make sense, and harm the 13 million men and women who make up the manufacturing industry in the U.S.