All U.S. federal agencies must now purchase "essential" drugs and medications from American companies only, according to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Thursday.
The order was necessary because the U.S. can no longer rely on China and other countries to supply it with much-needed drugs and medications, he said. International suppliers may one day cut the country out, which means Americans must find a way to produce their own pharmaceutical supplies, he said at the Whirlpool Corp. factory in Clyde, Ohio.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro earlier said the president was expected to sign a new executive order called "Buy American." He said the decision to pass the order was made after the country's negative experiences during the pandemic. Navarro said an overdependence on foreign nations for essential pharmaceutical and medical supplies had been a problem during the health crisis.
As part of the order the U.S. will stock essential medicines and medical equipment. All of these items, including masks, gloves, drugs, ventilators and goggles, will be purchased from U.S. companies only.
Reviews of the manufacture of certain drug ingredients will be fast-tracked to increase production capacity. Another component of the order is to limit the entry of foreign medicines and medical equipment to curb the entry of counterfeit or low-quality items.
Trump said the decision was part of an initiative to turn the country into a "premier" manufacturer of drugs and medical equipment. Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to struggle with the spread of the coronavirus. The U.S. has more than 5 million confirmed cases with more than 162,000 fatalities.
In the past months it has experienced a significant shortage of prescription drugs and other essential medications. Part of the reason for this is continued disruptions in the supply of essential ingredients needed to manufacture some medications - most of which are being imported from China.
In July Trump signed a deal with the Eastman Kodak Co. to support the company's manufacturing of pharmaceutical ingredients. Kodak was given a $765 million loan as part of the deal.
