Necessary response to coronavirus disruption of pharmaceutical supply chain
Washington. The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) strongly praised the Trump administration for issuing an executive order to end U.S. reliance on China for key medicines. CPA has long urged a reduced dependence on China for sectors critical to national security, including military hardware, wireless networks, prescription drugs, and antibiotics.
“This is a great step forward and necessary for our national security. We cannot be dependent on a communist regime for vital key ingredients that are needed to make the most basic of medicines” said CPA Chair Dan DiMicco. “We have heard the threats from the Chinese Communist Party – threatening our reshoring of pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing. However, the US needs a strong manufacturing base for our national security and we will not be deterred to reshore these vital industries. A strong industrial base is key for any great nation. We are grateful to President Trump and his team for their strong leadership in this time of crisis and for taking the necessary steps to rapidly restore pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing in the United States. And we must continue this effort across all fronts and bring back all industries from the Chinese Communist Party.”
The executive order signed by President Trump aims to increase domestic production of essential pharmaceuticals and medical supplies by implementing strong Buy America requirements. It will also streamline regulations to remove cumbersome and duplicative roadblocks – while providing an opportunity for the latest innovative technology to be deployed.
CPA’s Committee on Healthcare Chairwoman Rosemary Gibson testified in March before the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 90 percent of the world’s supply of chemical starting materials needed to make the generic drugs to help people hospitalized with coronavirus recover are currently imported, particularly from China. This includes many well-known antibiotics and other medications used to treat coronavirus infections. However, the coronavirus outbreak has severely disrupted China’s production of drug exports for the U.S. market. Gibson explained that, with Washington’s help, U.S. firms stand ready to produce these essential generic drugs and other needed supplies.
Said DiMicco, “Buy America provisions are critical to ensuring that future drug manufacturing will take place in the United States—not overseas. Our members stand ready to work with the administration to restore sectors like pharmaceutical manufacturing that are critical for America’s economic and national security.”
Click here to read Ms. Gibson’s full Senate testimony and watch her testimony here
Text of the Executive Order can be found here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-ensuring-essential-medicines-medical-countermeasures-critical-inputs-made-united-states/
