WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) today praised President Trump’s signing of an unprecedented Executive Order aimed at reshoring domestic production of critical pharmaceuticals. The order, titled “Regulatory Relief to Promote Domestic Production of Critical Medicines,” marks a significant step toward ending America’s dangerous dependence on foreign-made generic drugs and strengthening U.S. economic and national security.
“President Trump’s Executive Order is a bold, necessary move to rebuild America’s pharmaceutical industry and protect our citizens,” said Zach Mottl, Chairman of CPA. “For decades, we’ve been dangerously reliant on foreign suppliers, especially from India and China, whose lower-quality generics put American lives at risk. An important new study revealed patients taking generic drugs made in India are 54.3% more likely to experience serious adverse health events than those taking drugs manufactured in advanced economies. Restoring domestic manufacturing is not just sound economic policy—it’s vital for public safety.”
The U.S. currently relies heavily on imported pharmaceuticals. India and China are increasingly the leading U.S. source for generic pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), which account for 91% of all prescriptions written in the U.S. CPA has repeatedly highlighted that foreign government subsidies, regulatory failures, and inadequate safety standards abroad have led to recurring drug shortages, compromised drug quality, and heightened risks to American patients.
CPA has long advocated for strong industrial policy measures to support reshoring critical generic drug manufacturing capacity. Specifically, CPA strongly supports the PILLS Act—reintroduced by Representative Claudia Tenney (R-NY)—which would incentivize the strategic reshoring of U.S. domestic production of generic medicines with a domestic production-based tax credit, domestic content bonus credit, and an investment tax credit.
“President Trump’s action today demonstrates his commitment to rebuilding a secure, robust, and trustworthy domestic generic drug supply chain,” said Jon Toomey, President of CPA. “We applaud this significant first step, but more needs to be done. Congress and the administration must further incentivize domestic production, including permanent, sector-specific tariffs to level the playing field against subsidized foreign imports. America must prioritize investing in its own industry rather than remain dangerously dependent on countries whose regulatory oversight and manufacturing standards put U.S. patients at risk.”
CPA’s research has consistently exposed the national security vulnerabilities posed by dependence on foreign pharmaceutical production. As imports from China and India have surged, U.S. consumers have suffered serious shortages and quality issues, placing a significant strain on the American healthcare system.
A groundbreaking new study published in Production and Operations Management revealed that patients taking generic drugs made in India are far more likely (up to 54.3%) to suffer from serious adverse health effects than patients taking equivalent drugs made in more advanced economies such as the U.S. and Europe. The researchers—hailing from Ohio State University, Indiana University and Brigham Young University—compared drugs using equivalency standards defined by the Food and Drug Administration and controlled for variables such as drug volume and manufacturer size. Their conclusion was clear: Not all generics are created equal, and where a drug is made matters.
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