Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced plans to augment global warming potential (GWP) limits on hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) substances established in the Technology Transitions section of 2020’s American Innovation and Manufacturing Act. If passed, the regulation would increase the acceptable GWP levels of HFC refrigerants used in various HVAC-R equipment.

An eventful first year of the second Trump administration has been especially relevant to those in the manufacturing and supply chain industries as of late, with tariff-related conversations taking center stage.

Last month, Maine governor Janet Mills approved an amendment to 38 MRSA §1614 establishing sales prohibitions as well as exemptions for certain products containing “intentionally added” perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The amendment also includes budgetary provisions to direct additional funds toward programs and agencies tasked with regulating the sale of these so-called “forever chemicals” in the state.

The recent rash of executive orders authored by the Trump administration includes the revocation of EO 14082, titled “Implementation of the Energy and Infrastructure Provisions of the Inflation Reduction (IRA) Act of 2022,” a Biden-era order aimed at combatting rising inflation with incentive programs for the manufacturing sector, among other mechanisms.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently submitted the third final rule stemming from 2020’s American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, which gave the agency the authority to regulate HFC substances. The first of these rules established a phasedown roadmap, the second outlined refrigerant GWP limits in equipment, with this most recent ruling pertaining to the reclaim, recycling, reuse, and other management of HFC substances.

Late last month, the White House announced an increase in tariffs on the import of several Chinese products and materials, including steel and aluminum, both of which – especially the latter – are important commodities in the HVAC-R industry and related manufacturing sectors.

As any attendee of February's annual AHR Expo will tell you, conversations on topics pertaining to R-410A's impending phaseout were unavoidable, as next January's deadline for the manufacture and import of new R-410A units looms. And, while the commercial HVAC industry is affected most prevalently by EPA mandates aimed at reducing industry's contribution to climate change, regulation will soon impact several other refrigerants and markets as well.

American chemical giant Chemours announced Thursday that it will discontinue all domestic sales of two of its refrigerant products – Freon™ 404A (ASHRAE designation R-404A) and Freon 507™ (ASHRAE designation R-507) – citing strategic alignment with regulatory phasedown requirements as its reason for doing so. The announcement marks one of the more high-profile developments at the supplier level, especially for R-404A, a longtime mainstay of the commercial refrigeration industry, as the heating and cooling sector continues to act in response to by HFC regulation.