‘Big Pharma and its well-heeled Swamp Creatures need to stop being such a divisive element in American politics…’
(Michael Barnes, Liberty Headlines) White House economic advisor Peter Navarro has had enough of Big Pharma and its efforts to side with China over the interests of the United States.
Navarro blasted pharmaceutical companies and their armies of Washington, D.C. lobbyists in an exchange with the Epoch Times on Thursday.
“America is more than up to that task, and Big Pharma and its well-heeled Swamp Creatures need to stop being such a divisive element in American politics,” he said.
At issue is the pharmaceutical industry’s objection to the Trump administration’s “Buy American” executive order that aims to reduce dependence on China for critical prescription drugs, and vital medical equipment and supplies.
Navarro—who currently serves as the assistant to the president, and director of trade and manufacturing policy—has been working on the “Buy American” order for weeks. The policy is designed to protect U.S. national security and promote both jobs and economic demand.
But Big Pharma is having none of it. A letter signed by 40 different pharmaceutical companies, lobbying firms and related organizations has already made its way to Trump’s desk.
The letter warns that the administration’s plan could harm the fight against the Wuhan coronavirus that’s currently ravaging New York City and other areas of the country.
In the interview, Navarro scoffed at the idea.
“That’s a Big Pharma red herring designed to preserve its offshore oligopoly at the expense of American citizens,” he said.
In truth, the “Buy American” order wouldn’t have time to be implemented until after the Wuhan virus pandemic likely subsides.
Other prominent figures, like Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., have also called for bringing home medical supply chains, especially from China.
“We cannot trust China to continue to manufacture our pharmaceuticals, things like antibiotics, penicillin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, to say nothing of dozens of other basic pharmaceutical ingredients,” Cotton said last week after the Chinese Communist Party threatened to impose pharmaceutical export controls over vital drugs and plunge the U.S. into “the mighty sea of coronavirus.”
Navarro is determined to reduce these types of threats. But his main obstacle isn’t the Chinese government, it’s the American pharmaceutical industry.
“If this crisis teaches us anything at all, it is that we cannot rely on Big Pharma, which is renown already for its price gouging, to provide America with the medicines and medical supplies we urgently need from its offshored production during the China virus crisis,” Navarro said.