WASHINGTON — President Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing the federal government to buy certain drugs solely from American factories.
The so-called “Buy American” order could represent a seismic shakeup of the drug industry: No one knows exactly how much of the American drug supply chain is produced abroad, but some experts insist up to 90% of critical generic drugs are made at least partially abroad.
It remains unclear, however, how broadly the order will be implemented — the executive order does not specify what drugs it covers. Instead, the order directs the Food and Drug Administration to decide which medicines will be subject to the new requirements. Certain drugs can also be exempted from the executive order if they’re too expensive to make in the U.S. or the U.S. isn’t already making them.
About the Author Reprints
Maybe Trump should allow the US to phase in this “buy American” drugs. If drastic action like this is not taken, however, why would anybody change the status quo? We could think of a way to “incentivize” the Buy American.
Rule by fiat without a comprehensive plan
Watching America under Republicans wherever Republicans rule is like watching the body politic distort and sicken as it cannot adapt to changing conditions.
Lucky thing that Obama’s executive orders were not “rule by fiat,” but instead (in Obama’s case) a proper use of a legal and common government act.
It will be increasingly difficult to “adapt to changing conditions” when those changes are “the giveaway of the US economy to an enemy power.”
If that was the Dem’s “comprehensive plan,” no wonder it is cheered by all the US Commies.
The CCP would like to thank you for your support.
You’re just going to love “adapting” to becoming a rice slave — the healthy and undistorted “body politic.”
The executive order does not specify what drugs it covers; that job falls to the FDA to decide. And certain drugs and devices can be carved out from the executive order if buying the product in America would raise costs by more than 25%.
AKA just noise. Nothing will actually change
You are right on. My additional comments were not posted. That is called censorship.
STAT’s platform for comments holds comments with multiple links for approval. It’s a manual (read “human”) process and we do not have the staff to monitor and approve 24/7. That’s not censorship, Girish. The two comments have been approved and are live.
Pat Skerrett
STAT
Puerto Rico is our biggest “domestic” producer. My guess is that there will be a rush to build more facilities there (we already have medical manufacturing there). However, if we can’t support them through hurricanes and other national disasters, it’s going to be a major mis-step. Just take a look at the shortages that happened after Hurricane Maria.
Besides buying from US based companies PBMs have to be contained. They are off the discussion spectrum.
Following discuss the challenges USA faces. They are huge.
http://bit.ly/3d0gjaO
http://bit.ly/34RYypH
https://bit.ly/2yrkYmD
https://bit.ly/2BeqFWd
If we start manufacturing in USA in five years generic needs, it will be a miracle.
Panicking parties are PBMs, lobby groups, big pharma and politicians who sleep in the same bed.
Has anyone looked at PBMs? They are top ten Fortune 500 companies. They will not let go of their profits coming and going. No news folks write about this sad scenario. They are scared.
FDA is a catalyst in this effort as they have in the name of drug quality have shackled innovation and competition.
Besides buying from US located companies PBMs have to be contained. They are off the discussion spectrum and have to be contained. http://bit.ly/34RYypH
We have issues with drug distribution to general public and no one is paying attention. Following should be reviewed.
https://bit.ly/2yrkYmD
https://bit.ly/2BeqFWd
It’s hard to imagine any nation allowing an enemy nation to control the supply of its vital goods.
If the Soviet Union had offered us a great deal — saving 10 cents on every dollar — to destroy US jobs and America’s capacity to produce weapons, should we have jumped at that?
Goofy politicians thought that transferring all our manufacture to China would make it into a democracy.
But instead of becoming a nation of mild, peaceful owners of laundromats and take-out restaurants, the CCP weaponized our money, destroyed our jobs, and loaded us up with consumer crap and counterfeit products.
Now we are likely to lose everything to that evil dystopia.
Good for Trump for trying to reverse this horrific damage to Western democracy.
It’s just probably too little too late.
We started the process in late seventies and it accelerated with WTO. Developing country lawyers and vested groups in the interest of expanding markets gave away the family jewels.
What percentage of medications are purchased by the government? This is just VA and the military right? What other parts of the gov buy drugs? Medicare and Medicaid are not drug buyers. I realize that alone is a large market, but it’s not all drug purchases.
The federal govt purchases drugs under the Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) — there are already limits on what countries those supplies can come from including drugs. These are for the VA, military, Indian Health Service, and maybe a few others. Years ago products from India and China were already prohibited, but I don’t know if that’s still the case.
The VA is the largest integrated health system in the US. They purchase for the patients in the hospitals and they also fill all of the outpatient medications for the Veterans, just like a Walgreens or CVS for civilians. They send them all over the world. If the patient is over seas, they refill their prescriptions and send them there. They don’t just supply medications. They supply underpads, poise pads, diapers, diabetic supplies, wound care supplies, ostomy supplies, etc. I was a buyer at a VA hospital for years. The inpatient pharmacy budget for the hospital ONLY was over $3,000,0000 a month.
Yes, India and China are prohibited. There is also a handful of others that are non-TAA countries including Russia, Indonesia and Malaysia.
If Americans are forced to buy more American-made drugs, then America must cover the burden of the higher cost, so that Americans can afford and take the drugs they need. That America already does not take care of about 48 million of its people that must chose between food or their meds is horrendous already – and will get worse. The average working American pays some 35% income taxes, while the Super Rich do not. Higher incomes should pay higher taxes, increasing by income increments – as in numerous other western nations. Those moneys well-applied to folks of lesser means by no choice of their own will create an America that finally would join the ranks of those other western truly civilized nations. The current (old un-evolved) have / have-not disparity in America is absolutely horrific compared to any other western nation, therefore America is definitely not the best country in the world. Certainly not with the current rogue, arrogant, self-aggrandizing = selfish “leader”
I totally agree with Kathryn J, and hope procrastination will hold the crazy big felt-pen orders at bay until the direly needed leadership change. Only then can the US start moving to a much more balanced society where the archaeic, 100 years behind-the-times systems get overhauled and updated. It is baffling that in this huge nation, we can only still vote for either 1 left or 1 right. How far from representative is that in 2020 ??
There is NO cost that is “too high.”
NOTHING could ever be more expensive than China refusing to send us our critical supplies.
EVEN IF thousands of people die now, that would be nothing compared to the millions that will die if and when China decides that vaccines, antibiotics, and other common drugs are weapons of war.
Don’t think for a minute that the CCP will hesitate to destroy millions of Chinese jobs by ceasing the sale of their manufacture.
Not even Chinese lives mean anything to this ghastly government — never mind American lives.
The people of China are nothing but “slave labor units” to the Chinese government.
The CCP doesn’t even care enough about their lives to spend the money to prohibit “wet markets” from selling diseased animals for meat, or criminalizing biting off the heads of living rabid bats to suck their hot, spurting rabid blood.
The CCP is moving now to take advantage of the chaos its pandemic has unleashed in the Western world.
And now there’s a news story that they are about to start a new one.
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-53218704
Trump should STRONGLY strengthen trade sanctions against China.