Senators Warn of China's Grip on America's Drug Supply

Hearing highlights U.S. reliance on China for essential medications and pharmaceutical ingredients

Mar. 17, 2026 at 12:03pm

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A Senate committee held a hearing examining how China has come to dominate global pharmaceutical manufacturing, leaving the U.S. highly dependent on China for many essential hospital and outpatient medications, especially generic drugs which account for 90% of prescriptions filled in the U.S. Witnesses warned that if China banned exports, the U.S. healthcare system would quickly cease to function.

Why it matters

The U.S. government's past trade, regulatory and procurement decisions have enabled China to gain control over the production of key pharmaceutical ingredients and finished drugs, giving China significant leverage over the American healthcare system. Witnesses warned this poses grave risks to public health and national security.

The details

The Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing examining how China's state-directed industrial policies and exploitation of U.S. policies have allowed it to capture over 90% of the global supply of key starting materials to make active pharmaceutical ingredients for generic drugs. Witnesses testified that the U.S. now relies on China for 72% of API-manufacturing facilities supplying the U.S. market, with only 28% located in the U.S. They warned that this highly centralized system is vulnerable to catastrophic failure, and that China could use its dominance to flood the U.S. with substandard generics or even ban exports, crippling the American healthcare system.

  • The Senate hearing was held last week.

The players

Rick Scott

Republican Senator from Florida and Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging.

Kirsten Gillibrand

Democratic Senator from New York and Ranking Member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging.

Ted Yoho

Witness who testified that past U.S. government policies drove pharmaceutical manufacturing offshore to China.

Gordon Chang

Witness who testified that the U.S. must quickly onshore pharmaceutical production to ensure access to needed medicines.

Rosemary Gibson

Witness who warned that China's control of 90% of key starting materials could lead to catastrophic failure of the U.S. healthcare system.

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What they’re saying

“The US Government created a situation over the past decades that drove companies offshore with high taxes, trade policies, and burdensome regulations, along with industry-high labor costs. Companies sought an alternative to these factors directed by boardrooms seeking higher profits. China, acting astutely, took advantage of a self-inflicted wound from a combination of overburdensome government policies and the drive for more corporate profits.”

— Ted Yoho (Forbes)

“Healthcare is best left to the market, but as China weaponizes trade—and continually threatens war—it's clear that Washington has to temporarily implement non-market solutions to ensure that Americans have access to the medicines they need. In short, America has to quickly onshore production.”

— Gordon Chang (Forbes)

“China controls approximately 90 percent of the global supply of key starting materials (KSMs) to make active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) in generic drugs. This highly centralized system is perfectly designed for catastrophic failure. If China banned exports, within months the U.S. health care system would cease to function.”

— Rosemary Gibson (Forbes)

What’s next

The Senate committee's report and recommendations are expected to prompt further action from Congress and the executive branch to address America's dangerous reliance on China for essential medicines.

The takeaway

The Senate hearing highlighted the grave national security and public health risks posed by China's stranglehold over the U.S. drug supply, underscoring the urgent need for the government to take swift action to onshore pharmaceutical production and reduce America's dangerous dependence on a single, adversarial supplier.