Don’t disrupt the supply chain in the midst of a pandemic
The Trump administration fears America has lost its ability to mass-produce the medicines and medical supplies needed to fight the coronavirus and other, future pandemics.
So, it’s considering an executive order to bring drug and medical-supply manufacturing back to the United States.
It can take up to a decade and around $2 billion to build a new pharmaceutical manufacturing facility, secure all the necessary equipment and supplies, hire and train workers, and take the thousands of other steps needed to sustain such operations.
Trying to forcibly re-shore the production of drugs’ active pharmaceutical ingredients could also violate America’s obligations under the World Trade Organization agreements, inviting retaliatory actions from our trading partners.
Manufacturing medical supplies and ingredients in developed markets like the United States can be up to five times costlier than doing so in India or China.
