Ag Policy Blog

WASHINGTON (DTN) -- Invoking the Defense Production Act, President Donald Trump on Wednesday designated glyphosate-based herbicides and elemental phosphorus as critical to national defense and ordered Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to prioritize and secure domestic supplies.

The order also grants legal immunity to domestic producers that comply with federal directives and gives USDA authority to direct production and control distribution if necessary.

Citing the Defense Production Act, Trump declared phosphorus and glyphosate products are essential not only for agriculture but also for military readiness as well. The threat of scarcity for either phosphorus or glyphosate would leave the U.S. vulnerable.

The designation also allows the president to direct the production of both products and control the distribution of them as well.

Trump also delegated Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins with "ensuring a continued and adequate supply of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides."

The White House order said glyphosate is the most widely used crop protection product, adding, "glyphosate-based herbicides are a cornerstone of this nation's agricultural productivity and rural economy, allowing United States farmers and ranchers to maintain high yields and low production costs while ensuring that healthy, affordable food options remain within reach for all American families."

The order added, "There is no direct one-for-one chemical alternative to glyphosate-based herbicides. Lack of access to glyphosate-based herbicides would critically jeopardize agricultural productivity, adding pressure to the domestic food system, and may result in a transition of cropland to other uses due to low productivity."

Trump's order also stated elemental phosphorus is used not just for fertilizers, but also "is pervasive in defense supply chains and is therefore crucial to military readiness and national defense."

Phosphorus is "a key input in smoke, illumination, and incendiary devices and is a critical component for manufacturing the semiconductors that are central to numerous defense technologies, such as radar, solar cells, sensors, and optoelectronics."

Phosphorus also is increasingly important to the chemistry for modern lithium-ion batteries used in weapon-system supply chains, the order stated. That was a driving force for the Interior Department to designate phosphate as a critical mineral, the order stated.

Phosphorus is also a fertilizer and "a critical precursor element for the production of glyphosate-based herbicides, which play a critical role in maintaining America's agricultural advantage by enabling farmers to efficiently and cost-effectively produce food and livestock feed," Trump's order stated.

Further the order highlighted current challenges farmers face with profit margins. "Given the profit margins growers currently face, any major restrictions in access to glyphosate-based herbicides would result in economic losses for growers and make it untenable for them to meet growing food and feed demands."

At USDA, Rollins will consult with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and work to "determine the proper nationwide priorities and allocation of all the materials, services, and facilities necessary to ensure a continued and adequate supply of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides." Rollins will issue the rules and orders necessary to implement the order.

The order also tells Rollins to protect domestic suppliers from going out of business, but also shielding those companies from regulatory or financial pressures. Rollins also should ensure any rule or regulation "does not place the corporate viability of any domestic producer of elemental phosphorus or glyphosate-based herbicides at risk."

Further, companies falling under the order receive immunity as well. "Additionally, domestic producers of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides are required to comply with this order," Under the Defense Production Act, companies complying with orders can't be sued for damages for complying with those orders. They are also shielded from certain civil liability cases and are protected from antitrust exposure for following the federal orders.

When it comes to domestic phosphate production, Mosaic states the company is responsible for 74% of "concentrated phosphate crop nutrients" across North America. Combined with Nutrien, the two companies control more than 90% of phosphate fertilizer sales to U.S. farmers, the group Farm Action cites.

Bayer (Monsanto) is the only domestic supplier of glyphosate. The Wall Street Journal reported last year that Bayer produces roughly 40% of the world's glyphosate at its U.S. facilities.

The decision to protect the production and supply of glyphosate amounts to a full reversal from Trump's initial introductions of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. During his campaign, Kennedy vowed to get rid of glyphosate and other pesticides, but he has backed off those claims since last summer. Advocates for the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement have remained vocal over their criticisms of glyphosate.

A statement from Monsanto said the company will comply with the president's order. "President Trump's Executive Order reinforces the critical need for U.S. farmers to have access to essential, domestically produced crop protection tools such as glyphosate. We will comply with this order to produce glyphosate and elemental phosphorus."

Ken Cook, president and co-founder of Environmental Working Group, said it was a "shocking betrayal" that the president and administration are giving legal immunity to Bayer.

"I can't envision a bigger middle finger to every MAHA mom than this," Cook said. "By granting immunity to the makers of the nation's most widely used pesticide, President Trump just gave Bayer a license to poison people. Full stop."

Bayer has been mired in a decade of litigation over glyphosate and has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for relief, as well as pressing state legislatures to pass liability protection. Bayer has settled more than 100,000 cases with people with cancer such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Just Tuesday, Bayer proposed a $7.25 billion class settlement to resolve both existing and future non-Hodgkin lymphoma claims over a 21-year period.

The order comes as House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Pa., also included language in his latest draft of the farm bill that would spell out that EPA has exclusive authority over pesticide restrictions and labeling requirements. Another provision backed by Bayer and the agrichemical industry, the bill would block states, political subdivisions or courts from imposing or continuing any labeling requirements or holding companies liable for failing to comply with requirements that would require labeling beyond those approved by EPA.

Thompson issued a statement thanking Trump for taking action to protect the supply of glyphosate.

"Thank you to President Trump for acknowledging the importance of glyphosate-based herbicides in American agriculture," Thompson said. "At the House Committee on Agriculture, we know that food security is national security, and this is a vital step forward in ensuring a domestic supply of this critical crop input remains available for our producers."

President Donald Trump's Executive Order on Phosphorus and Glyphosate: https://www.whitehouse.gov/…

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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