March 18, 2020

Prior to the interruptions caused due to the coronavirus, the Trump economy was surging. One of the primary factors propelling the robust economy is the President’s focus on strengthening key domestic industries, such as energy and manufacturing that were previously neglected.

But in the midst of a global pandemic that has largely caused everyday life for tens of millions of Americans to screech to a halt, now is certainly NOT the time to abruptly change the rules regarding how doctors and healthcare professionals treat their patients.

It is extremely bad timing, then, that the administration is proposing a “Buy American” executive order that would require government agencies such as HHS, Defense Department and Veterans Affairs to requisition their medicines only from domestic sources. It would also likely apply to businesses with government contracts as well.

The problems with this maneuver are obvious; while the nation is mired in an ongoing global health crisis, creating new mandates on global supply chains will be entirely disruptive to efforts to diagnose, treat, and prevent the spread of coronavirus, as well as all other ailments, the treatments for which may lag as coronavirus stresses our healthcare system.

Mandating from where medicines and their vital ingredients are sourced limits us at a time when we need to be looking far and wide for answers. It is also a prescription for supply shortages and disruptions in treatment, which are the natural consequences to access restrictions.

As economist Wayne Winegarden writes, now is neither the time nor place to restrict America’s access to medical components and formulas that could lead to a treatment or vaccine, but to take action that “leverages the collective knowledge and resources from public and private institutions across the globe.”

And medicines are not entirely interchangeable, like auto parts. A medicine that may work on one patient may not be effective on another, which presents an entirely new danger to U.S. consumers. A sudden jerking of the wheel to steer medical supply chains away from current sources opens up the possibility that working formularies of medications could be entirely unavailable to the patients that need them. This would be a disaster, but it is entirely preventable.

Supporting U.S. industry and domestic independence on healthcare solutions is an important and admirable goal. But it must be measured by a higher priority, namely, what is in the best interest of America’s short-term and long-term health. We should never jeopardize the lives and health of Americans through secondary considerations such as the point of origin of a cure or treatment. Political considerations as evoked by a “Buy American” mandate put the health and lives of Americans unnecessarily at risk, especially in the face of a global pandemic. Unfortunately the executive order under consideration does just this, and for these reasons is entirely misguided and inappropriate during this time of uncertainty. We hope the President and his administration reconsiders this extremely risky step.