Side Effects May Include Dependency on China

What happens if the world’s pharmacy decides to close? From ibuprofen to amoxicillin, a majority of the essential medicines used in the United States depend on ingredients from China. This dependence has left the United States vulnerable to a geopolitical rival that could decide to cut off its access at any time.

On this episode of Why It Matters, we unpack how the U.S. became dependent on China for a majority of its pharmaceuticals and what’s at risk if the pharma supply chain snaps.

Host:

Gabrielle Sierra, Director of Podcasting, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)

Guest:

Rush Doshi, C.V. Starr Senior Fellow for Asia Studies and Director of the China Strategy Initiative, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)

Olivia Kosloff, Senior Fellow, American Economic Liberties Project

Read More:

Thomas J. Bollyky, Rush Doshi, Prashant Yadav, Olivia Kosloff, and Elena Every, “The Pharma Choke Point,” CFR.org

Tim Rühlig, “The China Drug Dependency,” CFR.org

“Executive Order 13944 List of Essential Medicines, Medical Countermeasures, and Critical Inputs,” U.S. Food and Drug Administration

​​Want to keep up with Why It Matters? Sign up to receive an email alert when new episodes drop.

Why It Matters is a production of the Council on Foreign Relations. The opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the host and guests, not of the Council, which takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.