Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., the chair of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, recently warned that the United States is “dangerously dependent” on Chinese supply chains, especially for the raw materials used to make medicines.
Her statement reflects the genuine worries of industry experts and ordinary Americans. If drug manufacturers were unable to secure sufficient quantities of “active pharmaceutical ingredients,” or APIs, the resulting medicine shortages could prove lethal.
Too often, however, concerns about the resilience of international supply chains devolve into mandates that companies “Buy American.” Such mandates are infeasible in the market for active pharmaceutical ingredients. And they won’t actually prevent the supply chain disruptions that Rep. McMorris Rodgers rightly worries about.
By contrast, market forces and international diversification are the most effective ways to ensure that we have the inputs we need to manufacture advanced pharmaceuticals.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.
Diversifying America’s supply chains point to a more prosperous economic future
Sally C. Pipes
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., the chair of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, recently warned that the United States is “dangerously dependent” on Chinese supply chains, especially for the raw materials used to make medicines.
Her statement reflects the genuine worries of industry experts and ordinary Americans. If drug manufacturers were unable to secure sufficient quantities of “active pharmaceutical ingredients,” or APIs, the resulting medicine shortages could prove lethal.
Too often, however, concerns about the resilience of international supply chains devolve into mandates that companies “Buy American.” Such mandates are infeasible in the market for active pharmaceutical ingredients. And they won’t actually prevent the supply chain disruptions that Rep. McMorris Rodgers rightly worries about.
By contrast, market forces and international diversification are the most effective ways to ensure that we have the inputs we need to manufacture advanced pharmaceuticals.
Click to read the full article at The Spokesman-Review.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.