Kunal Chopra
Jan 22, 2025
The Future of the Regulatory Landscape in the Trump Era: What Manufacturers Should Know
As the Trump administration pushes forward with its deregulatory agenda, manufacturers are poised to experience significant shifts in the regulatory landscape. While the promise of reduced compliance burdens and increased operational freedom may seem like a welcome change, the reality is far more complex. Manufacturers must tread carefully in this new environment, balancing opportunities with risks and preparing for potential uncertainties.
What Manufacturers Can Expect
Eased Environmental Regulations
What’s Changing: Key policies such as the Clean Power Plan and international agreements like the Paris Climate Accord are likely to be scaled back or eliminated. This may reduce compliance costs for industries like automotive, energy, and heavy manufacturing, which have historically been heavily regulated.
The Risk: A less stringent regulatory environment could lead to increased scrutiny from stakeholders, such as consumers and investors, who expect strong environmental and sustainability commitments.
Trade Policy and Tariffs
What’s Changing: Trade tariffs and international trade agreements are likely to be reevaluated, impacting global supply chains. While this could provide short-term cost benefits, it may also introduce volatility, especially for manufacturers heavily reliant on imports.
The Risk: Manufacturers may face uncertainty in supply chain planning, with potential disruptions or sudden regulatory shifts affecting material sourcing and production timelines.
Shifts in Consumer Protection Standards
What’s Changing: A more lenient Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) may mean fewer aggressive compliance requirements for product labeling, marketing, and consumer safety protocols.
The Risk: While this reduces immediate compliance pressure, it places the onus on manufacturers to maintain high standards voluntarily, as lapses could lead to reputational damage and loss of trust.
What Manufacturers Should Do
Double Down on Proactive Compliance
Even with deregulation, manufacturers cannot afford to be reactive. Stakeholders—be it customers, investors, or partners—expect businesses to uphold high standards. Companies should actively track and adapt to regulatory shifts, ensuring their compliance frameworks are always aligned with market expectations.Strengthen Supply Chain Resilience
With potential trade policy shifts and tariff changes, manufacturers must evaluate their supply chains for vulnerabilities. Collaborating closely with suppliers and diversifying sourcing strategies will reduce risk and improve flexibility in the face of uncertainty.Maintain Sustainability Commitments
Environmental deregulation doesn’t mean environmental responsibility goes away. Manufacturers should continue to prioritize sustainability initiatives, recognizing that long-term growth depends on meeting stakeholder expectations for sustainable practices.
How Certivo Can Help
In this evolving regulatory landscape, companies like Certivo can play a pivotal role in helping manufacturers navigate uncertainty and stay ahead. Here’s how:
Real-Time Regulatory Tracking: Certivo’s platform dynamically monitors regulatory updates, ensuring manufacturers are always aware of changes that could impact their operations.
Proactive Compliance Frameworks: With AI-powered insights, Certivo enables manufacturers to build compliance into their processes early, reducing delays and risks.
Supplier Collaboration Tools: Certivo fosters better collaboration across supply chains by automating data collection and validation, ensuring all nodes are aligned and compliant.
Sustainability Alignment: By tracking environmental and sustainability metrics, Certivo helps manufacturers maintain transparency and meet ESG commitments, even in a deregulated environment.
The Path Forward
The Trump administration’s deregulatory agenda presents manufacturers with opportunities to streamline operations and reduce compliance costs. However, these opportunities come with risks. A proactive approach to compliance, combined with technology like Certivo’s platform, can help manufacturers turn this period of uncertainty into a strategic advantage.
Manufacturers that embrace innovation, strengthen supply chain collaboration, and maintain their commitment to sustainability will not only navigate this new landscape but thrive in it.
Kunal Chopra
Kunal Chopra is the CEO of Certivo, an AI-driven compliance management platform revolutionizing how manufacturers navigate regulatory challenges. With a career spanning over two decades, Kunal is a seasoned technology leader, 3x tech CEO, product innovator, and board member with a passion for driving transformative growth and innovation.
Before leading Certivo, Kunal spearheaded successful transformations at renowned companies like Beckett Collectibles, Kaspien, Amazon, and Microsoft. His strategic vision and operational excellence have led to achievements such as a 25x EBITDA valuation increase at Beckett Collectibles and a 450% shareholder return at Kaspien. He has a track record of turning challenges into opportunities, delivering operational efficiencies, and driving market expansions.
Kunal’s deep expertise lies in blending technology and business strategy to create scalable solutions. At Certivo, he applies this expertise to empower manufacturers, using AI to turn product compliance from an operational burden into a strategic advantage.
Kunal holds an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, an MS in Computer Science from Clemson University, and a BE in Computer Engineering from The University of Mumbai. When he’s not transforming businesses, Kunal is an advocate for innovation, growth, and building cultures that inspire excellence.
Stay tuned for insights from Kunal on how technology can redefine compliance, drive efficiency, and create opportunities for growth in the manufacturing sector.