Trump Shifts Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Out of China, Back to US in Historical Move
President brings production home to America and away from 'sweatshop havens of the world'
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President Donald Trump has pulled off a historic move to shift pharmaceutical manufacturing back to America and away from the "sweatshop havens" of China and India.
The Trump Administration has signed an America-first deal to end reliance on Chinese and Indian manufacturers for the medical supply chain in the United States.
In a masterstroke move, President Trump signed a multi-million dollar contract to bring America’s pharmaceutical manufacturing back to the U.S.
Hailed as a “historic turning point,” the Trump admin took bold action by signing a $354 million deal to stockpile the key ingredients required to produce the nation’s supply of critical medications.
The move will "create the nation’s first strategic stockpile of key ingredients needed to make medicines," according to NBC News.
"The agreement was signed Monday with Phlow Corp., a generic drug maker based in Virginia," the outlet added.
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White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro said that the move “will not only help bring our essential medicines home but actually do so in a way that is cost-competitive with the sweatshops and pollution havens of the world.”
Navarro is a staunch China hawk and the mastermind behind President Trump’s trade war with the communist nation.
“This is a historic turning point in America’s efforts to onshore its pharmaceutical production and supply chains,” Navarro added.
The New York Times reported that the company could see the contract “extended for a total of $812 million over 10 years, making it one of the largest awards in” the history of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
“There are not a lot of people wanting to bring back generic medicine manufacturing to the United States that has been lost to India and China over decades," Dr. Eric Edwards, the chief executive and president of Phlow, told the Times.
"You need someone like the federal government saying this is too important for us not to focus on.”
Phlow Corp bills itself as an America First company on its website.
“The United States’ drug supply chain is broken, becoming dangerously dependent upon Foreign Suppliers for our most essential generic medicines,” the website states.
“Phlow was formed to manufacture low-cost, high quality, essential generic drugs for the United States.”
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HHS Secretary Alex Azar describes the move was “a significant step to rebuild our domestic ability to protect ourselves from health threats.”
“Phlow plans to make drugs via a technique called ‘continuous manufacturing,’ widespread in other industries but still novel for pharmaceutical companies,” Forbes reported.
“Continuous manufacturing involves nonstop production within the same facility, which can save time and more quickly respond to drug shortages, though this can increase upfront costs.”
The move comes as America, and other countries around the world, have recently realized that they cannot depend on China as a reliable manufacturer of critical products, including medicines, that are essential to the global supply chain.
China’s lies and cover-up of the coronavirus pandemic, that originated in Wuhan, China, have made the issue glaringly apparent in recent months.
Late on Monday evening, Trump announced that the U.S. would make its suspension of funding the World Health Organization permanent if “major” immediate changes were not made.
