Thursday, April 2, 2020

China's Cartels: Those Who Control the Medicines Control the World

How dependent are we on China for medicines to care for people with severe cases of coronavirus? China is the source of 90 percent of the chemical starting materials needed to manufacture common generic drugs that help people recover.

China's dominance escalated after the U.S. granted most-favored nation trading status to China.

Within three years of the U.S.-China Trade Relations Act in 2000 and China joining the World Trade Organization, the last aspirin manufacturing plant in the U.S. shut its doors, the last facility making Vitamin C went out of business, and the only remaining penicillin plant announced its closure.

China has withheld exports of masks and other protective gear, and it is likely that China has been withholding domestically-produced medicines.

In July 2019, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission held a hearing on U.S. dependence on China for medicines.

During the hearing, a representative from the Department of Defense testified about the risks to the military of medicines made with key ingredients from China.

Rosemary Gibson is senior advisor at the Hastings Center and author of China Rx: Exposing the Risks of America's Dependence on China for Medicine.


https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/chinas-cartels-those-who-control-the-medicines-control-the-world/

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