Trump to sign order seeking to boost domestic drug manufacturing

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The Hill

President Trump will sign an executive order on Thursday to require government agencies to "Buy American" for certain essential medicines, and encourage U.S. manufacturing of drugs.

The White House billed the order, which Trump will sign during a trip to Ohio, a swing state in the coming election, as part of the president's efforts to boost U.S. manufacturing.

White House adviser Peter Navarro, who is spearheading the order, also said it would reduce U.S. dependency on other countries like China to manufacture drugs that the U.S. relies on, especially during emergencies like the current coronavirus pandemic.

"We're dangerously overdependent on foreign nations for our essential medicines," Navarro told reporters on Thursday.

The order requires the federal government to develop a list of "essential" medicines, and then requires that agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Defense, purchase U.S.-made versions of those drugs.