Trump designates phosphorus, glyphosate as national security priorities under Defense Production Act

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday invoking the Defense Production Act to designate elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides as national security priorities, citing critical vulnerabilities in domestic supply chains. The Cold War-era statute empowers federal intervention to ensure production capacity for materials essential to military preparedness and agricultural sustainability, with both currently reliant on single domestic producers unable to meet national demand.

Military and Agricultural Applications

Elemental phosphorus serves as a critical component in smoke bombs, illumination munitions, incendiary weapons, semiconductors for radar systems, solar panels, sensors, and lithium-ion batteries. It also functions as the primary precursor for glyphosate-based herbicides, which represent the most widely used plant protection agents in American agriculture, enabling high-yield crop and animal feed production. Trump's order transfers his authority under the act to the Agriculture Department, granting the secretary full powers over contract prioritization, resource allocation, and production facility management.

Legal Implications for Bayer

The classification provides significant legal leverage for German pharmaceutical giant Bayer, which faces approximately 65,000 US lawsuits alleging its glyphosate-based Roundup herbicide causes cancer. Bayer plans to argue federal preemption, asserting that national security designations override state-level claims. The company recently agreed to a $7.25 billion settlement for cancer litigation while increasing total provisions to €11.8 billion ($13.8 billion), with $11.3 billion allocated for glyphosate cases and approximately $5.9 billion expected to be paid to claimants this year. The executive order enables Bayer to defend glyphosate not merely as a commercial product but as a fundamental requirement for American independence and food security, potentially providing substantial immunity against compensation claims. The designation follows softening positions from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose Make America Healthy Again movement had previously vilified the herbicide.