What On Earth Are We Doing Here: Prescription Drugs and the China Connection

Sunday, April 12, 2020

Prescription Drugs and the China Connection

National Security is intrinsically connected to self
reliance and an independent supply chain.

The need for independence and self reliance was recently demonstrated with the public disclosure by President Trump that 90 percent of the ingredients contained in our drugs taken by U.S. citizens come from China. Suddenly I heard both Democrats and Republicans asking the question, "How could we allow this to happen?"

First, for those who did not listen to what our President said (and this likely includes most of my Liberal Comrades), here's a quote from May 8^th, 2018, that should chase away any doubts:

China has exclusive manufacturing agreements for drugs for anesthesia, cancer and HIV/AIDS, along with other medicines that "we use every day, not only in hospitals but in our own medicine chests," Gibson says, adding that China is now the world's only source of antibiotics, including the main ingredient in vancomycin, a treatment of last resort that is used by patients who are suffering from infections that are resistant to other treatment.
"It's a huge dramatic shift and nobody knows about it," Gibson says. "And they're just ramping up. It's all part of a plan that China laid out in its 2025 initiative to become the pharmacy to the world."
China’s Lock on Drugs, US News

To make matters worse, recently China threatened to withhold these vital drugs from the U.S., I presume in retaliation of our President's intent for China to be held accountable for the current situation.

The question is, how did we come to this point? Well, that path was paved by way of a bill entitled "U.S.-China Fair Trade Agreement," passed and signed into law about 20 years ago. At the time, it set up a situation where our drug companies were persuaded to close their U.S. manufacturing facilities and set up shop in China.

Although it was a good deal for the drug companies because it lowered the cost of production, it turned out to be DOA (Dead on Arrival) for American citizens.

Shifting production to China has made millions for the companies and their shareholders but hasn't trickled down to U.S. consumers, who are still paying more than consumers anywhere else in the world for their drugs. "The drug companies don't care about the United States," Slane says. "They only care about profits."

China has had an unfair advantage over our own manufacturers. Now that the land-of-the-dragon has shown its true colors, everyone is pointing fingers at one another. In my next blog post, I'll provide some history to the situation, which may enable us to see the players in our Congress who were remiss in their "national security" duties.

I'd love to hear from you. Please tell me your thoughts about China and the fact that they've been given a free pass for more than 20 years. Please use the contact us form, go to my Contact page, or use the comment box below. Thanks! --Al Colombo

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