Promoting the National Defense by Ensuring an Adequate Supply of Elemental Phosphorus and Glyphosate- Based Herbicides

The order formally finds that elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides meet the Defense Production Act's criteria for materials critical to national defense, citing their roles in military munitions, semiconductor manufacturing, battery supply chains, and agricultural productivity. It delegates to the Secretary of Agriculture the presidential authority under Section 101 of the Act to require that contracts for these materials take priority over other contracts and to allocate associated materials, services, and facilities as needed. The Secretary must consult with the Secretary of War in determining nationwide priorities and must issue orders, rules, and regulations to implement the delegation. The order also grants domestic producers immunity under Section 707 of the Defense Production Act and requires their compliance.

The order explicitly prohibits the Secretary from issuing any rule or order that would threaten the corporate viability of any domestic producer of elemental phosphorus or glyphosate-based herbicides. It does not itself impose specific production quotas, purchasing mandates, or price controls; those actions depend on future orders and regulations issued by the Secretary of Agriculture under the delegated authority.

The single domestic producer of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides, importers and downstream users of those substances, farmers and ranchers who rely on glyphosate herbicides, defense contractors that use elemental phosphorus in munitions and semiconductors, and the Department of Agriculture.

Farmers, defense contractors, and semiconductor manufacturers that depend on elemental phosphorus or glyphosate-based herbicides now face the prospect of federal production priorities and supply allocations. Because the United States imports more than 6 million kilograms of elemental phosphorus annually, the order signals potential federal intervention in that supply chain.

The Secretary of Agriculture gains Defense Production Act Section 101 authority — normally held by the President — to require priority contract performance and allocate materials for elemental phosphorus and glyphosate production. The Secretary must consult the Secretary of War before setting nationwide priorities and must issue implementing rules under 7 CFR part 789. Domestic producers are both protected from viability-threatening orders and required to comply. Legal immunity under DPA Section 707 covers actions taken in compliance. Implementation is subject to available appropriations.