ARKANSAS, USA — Senator Tom Cotton sent out a news release stating that earlier this month, a Chinese Communist Party propaganda outlet insinuated that Beijing could cut off supplies of life-saving medicine to the United States at any time.
“Unfortunately, this isn’t an empty threat. The United States is dangerously dependent for pharmaceuticals on the very regime whose failures and coverups caused this deadly pandemic to spiral out of control,” wrote Cotton.
Cotton says he has a plan to take back our ability to make pharmaceuticals and medical devices right here in America ending our dependence on Chinese drugs and medical devices.
“For two decades, the CCP has targeted America’s domestic drug manufacturers for destruction, using cartelization, state subsidies and lax safety standards to flood our hospitals and pharmacies with cheap and dangerous Chinese medicine,” wrote Cotton.
93 percent of all imported ibuprofen comes from China, and most of the active ingredients in drugs imported to us from countries like India also come from Chinese superlabs.
“Emergencies like pandemics and wars break down previously dependable supply chains and relationships as nations start to fend for themselves. It’s sadly clear America gave up the ability to fend for ourselves in basic medicine long ago,” wrote Senator Cotton.
Cotton wrote “Our bill would require federal entities like the Department of Defense, VA hospitals, Medicare and Medicaid to cut off purchases of drugs with Chinese ingredients no later than 2025. This requirement would phase in over a period of years to give drug companies time to adjust but would put clear pressure on importers to stop doing business with the CCP. The bill also would require drug companies to label the origins of ingredients in their drugs, so U.S. consumers are better informed of where their medicine comes from and whether it’s likely to be safe.”
The bill offers full and immediate expensing of factories, warehouses and capital goods related to the manufacture of drugs and medical devices on American soil.
“We can begin to undo the damage now. The antidote to our dependence on Chinese drugs is to stop buying them and take back our ability to make basic medicine here in America,” wrote Cotton.
