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Americaâs dependence on foreign drug ingredients is a national security and safety issue that is hiding in plain sight.
For years, Washington outsourced the very building blocks of our medicines to cut-rate producers abroad, especially in China. That was a bargain with fine print: quality we canât verify, leverage we donât control, and risks that land directly in American veins. The Trump administration was right to call this out and push for a tougher line on Chinese Communist Party (CPP) leadership and strategic decoupling.
Now we need to finish the job by rebuilding U.S. manufacturing and shutting the loopholes that let unsafe products slip through.
Popular and common weight-loss drugs are a prime example. They show both the promise and peril. But the weight-loss boom has opened a back door, and Beijing has walked straight through it. While patients line up for brand-name shots, a shadow supply chain sprang up: copycats of drugs built on Chinese precursors that should never have cleared our ports. That isnât âaccess.â Itâs an under-the-radar patient pipeline that gambles with American health and our national security.
Hereâs the reality: Between September 2023 and January 2025, U.S. data shows over 230 shipments of ingredients coming from foreign manufacturers that hadnât even registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Of those, 30 percent originated from China or Hong Kong and 81 percent of shipments still slipped through.
Unfortunately, these shipments werenât due to a temporary âshortageâ fix. The FDA removed one of the precursor chemicals from its shortage list in February 2025, yet the gray market kept humming because profits are easy, scrutiny is light, and China is happy to sell us what it wonât trust at home. As demand exploded, new suppliersâmostly in Chinaâproliferated with no inspection history and no external quality benchmark. Thatâs a gift to corner-cutters and counterfeiters. The harm isnât hypotheticalâcounterfeit Ozempic has already surfaced in U.S. distribution, triggering seizures and a national warning.
If the goal is safety, we need to stop pretending this as normal. Treat it as what it is: a Beijing-enabled gray market exploiting U.S. loopholes. And then close them.
We should start at our ports of entryâzero tolerance for unregistered precursor suppliers. If the manufacturer isnât FDA-registered, the shipment shouldnât clear, full stop. Unregistered suppliers should sit at the port until inspected and compliant. Itâs time to send the signal: sloppy documentation means the product doesnât move.
We should also use American diplomatic leverage to ensure we arenât subsidizing our own risk. Chinese bulk ingredients should be hit with tariffs so that itâs no longer cheaper to undercut American safety. Repeat offenders should be publicly named and be held accountable. If companies want access to the U.S. market, they must meet U.S. standards. If they wonât, they should feel the heat. This is the posture the Trump administration advancedâtreating the CCP as a strategic competitor, not a benevolent supplierâand itâs the right one.
Lastly, we must rebuild manufacturing at homeâmake medicine in America again. Strategic resilience means domestic capacity. All options should be on the tableâfrom targeted grants and loans to onshore precursors to streamlining permitting for new facilities. Pair that with strengthened âBuy Americanâ preferences for federally funded programs so that taxpayers arenât underwriting foreign dependency. This isnât industrial policy for its own sake; itâs public health insurance against the next shock and a jobs program rooted in national strength.
Access to U.S. markets and enforcement must work together. If the ingredients come from an unregistered Chinese supplier, we should deny the shipment. Patients alone shouldnât be on the hook for determining good products from bad ones. Instead, they need a system that blocks bad products before they reach them and provides clear information when they donât.
In my time at the Department of Homeland Security, I saw first-hand how Beijing profits when our guard is down. Chinaâs unvetted suppliers found a seam and exploited it. Itâs time to close the seam by making penalties real, by bringing manufacturing home, and, yes, by making China feel the heat until the pipeline runs dry.
Re-establishing American dominance and manufacturing isnât nostalgia. Itâs the difference between sovereignty and dependency. We know what works: a firm stance toward Beijing, airtight borders, and a national commitment to build again.
Chad F. Wolf serves as executive vice president, chief strategy officer, and chair of Homeland Security and Immigration at the America First Policy Institute. He is the former acting secretary of Homeland Security during President Trumpâs first term.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/11/17/exclusive-chad-f-wolf-close-the-chinese-drug-back-door-bring-medicine-production-back-to-the-u-s/
âď¸Singer/Songwriter/Voice Talent/Actor/Media Personalityâď¸
Born in Syracuse, NY. He holds a bachelor of science degree in communication from Florida Institute of Technology with specialization in technical writing, business, public relations, marketing, media, promotion, and aerospace engineering.
âď¸ Las Vegas Entertainer âď¸ MTV uplaya Platinum Auddy Award Winner âď¸ Southeastern FTTF Talent Champion âď¸ Movies & TV âď¸ Listed in âWhoâs Whoâ publication âď¸ Voted âMOST MARKETABLEâ: Sonic Records âď¸ U.S. Veteran âď¸
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