On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., sent a letter to Peter Navarro, the assistant to the president, requesting that the United States bring healthcare products and pharmaceutical manufacturing back to our country as soon as possible.
The letter is below:
Dear Dr. Navarro,
I strongly commend President Trump’s efforts to relocate crucial medical supply chains from overseas to the United States, and I stand ready to assist you in achieving this essential goal.
I have long supported a policy of free trade among free peoples. However, much of America’s medical products and pharmaceuticals are manufactured in countries that are not free, ignore fair and internationally recognized labor standards, and do not have America’s interests at heart. The current national security crisis, exacerbated by Communist China’s unconscionable delay in notifying the world health community about the threat of a novel virus, has illumined these concerns. We are acutely aware of the vulnerability caused by excessive reliance on foreign sources for essential products and medicines.
Tellingly, rather than accepting responsibility and apologizing for its role in spreading a deadly pandemic, Communist China instead threatened through its propaganda arm Xinhua, that it could withhold important products and force the United States into “the mighty sea of coronavirus.” In a shameless attempt to deflect blame, Communist China’s spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs absurdly attempted to blame the United States for introducing the virus into Communist China. The behavior of Communist China, which supplies a hefty portion of America’s medical products and pharmaceuticals, should be a wake-up call to all Americans.
The time to solve this issue is now. If we do not act with fierce determination today, we may not have the chance again before a more devastating challenge threatens us. This administration has the chance and the unique ability to take on this existential challenge and end our reliance on foreign sources for our healthcare needs. We must bring healthcare products and pharmaceutical manufacturing back to the United States – not only to safeguard the health of the American people, but to protect our national security. We must not allow ourselves to be at the mercy of an anti-American, dictatorial regime that does not respect the rights of its own citizens and clearly does not wish Americans well, either. We must never be susceptible to that type of blackmail.
I share your desire to take all possible measures to safeguard the health and security of the American people today. Americans have overcome daunting challenges and trying times of crisis, and we are faced with the opportunity to demonstrate our resilience and ingenuity once again. I will do all that I can to assist the Trump administration, along with the help of my colleagues, in bringing the production of these crucial, life-saving supplies back to the United States as soon as humanly possible.
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