The Trump White House was stunned when they found this. They had to act fast.
That’s why Donald Trump has signed an emergency executive order to address an urgent national security crisis.
Trump Takes Action to Secure America’s Drug Supply Chain
President Donald Trump is once again putting America first, signing a powerful executive order on August 13, to strengthen the nation’s pharmaceutical supply chain by filling the Strategic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Reserve (SAPIR) with critical drug components. This decisive move targets the dangerous reliance on foreign manufacturers—especially adversarial nations like China—and ensures a steady supply of life-saving medicines for Americans.
The order directs the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the Department of Health and Human Services to identify approximately 26 critical drugs vital for national health and security. ASPR is tasked with securing a six-month supply of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for these drugs, prioritizing American-made APIs whenever possible, to be stored in the SAPIR. The order also calls for updating a 2022 list of 86 essential medicines and creating a plan to stockpile a six-month API supply for these drugs, while proposing a second SAPIR repository to bolster resilience.
Senator Roger “Doc” Marshall, R-Kans., hailed the move on the Just The News, No Noise television show, stating, “It’s vital to be independent. Could you imagine if we are in a war with say, China, who makes about 90% of our active pharmaceutical ingredients? We could easily be without antibiotics, antivirals, insulin, insulin, like drugs, beta blockers.” His comments note the urgent national security threat posed by foreign dependence, a vulnerability exposed during the COVID-19 crisis when shortages of critical drugs plagued hospitals.
The SAPIR, established in 2020 under Trump’s first administration, was left nearly empty by the Biden administration’s failure to act. Despite billions spent on so-called supply chain initiatives, domestic API production stagnated, leaving the reserve understocked for years. Marshall didn’t mince words, saying, “Think about Joe Biden. He emptied our emergency stockpiles of oil. He paid no attention to this. President Trump is going to fill up these emergency stockpiles.” Trump’s order aims to reverse this neglect, prioritizing American self-reliance and security.
Only about 10% of APIs for U.S. prescription drugs are made domestically, leaving the nation at the mercy of foreign suppliers, particularly China and India, which dominate global API production. The United States Pharmacopeial Convention notes that a 2019 FDA analysis found 72% of API facilities supplying the U.S. market are overseas, with India and the EU supplying over half of the APIs for U.S. prescription medicines.
The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) adds that 90% of antiviral and antibiotic medications rely on APIs not found in the U.S., with China leading as the primary supplier of key starting materials for drugs mixed in India and shipped to America.
This over-reliance is a ticking time bomb. The White House warned, “Overreliance on foreign nations for key starting materials and APIs risks shortages of essential medicines.” Stockpiling APIs, which are cheaper and have longer shelf lives than finished drugs, is a smart strategy to protect Americans from supply chain disruptions.
A March 2024 white paper from APIIC, a nonprofit focused on strengthening national health security, revealed that over 320 essential medicines were on shortage lists in September 2024—an all-time high. Trump’s order aligns with APIIC’s call for public-private partnerships to address this crisis, reinforcing his “America First” vision.
This isn’t Trump’s first rodeo in tackling pharmaceutical vulnerabilities. In May, he issued an executive order to slash regulatory barriers and boost domestic drug manufacturing, while also pushing most-favored-nation pricing to lower costs for Americans. His administration is shaking up the industry, exploring ways to bypass greedy middlemen like Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) to deliver affordable drugs directly to patients. These moves are already spurring companies to expand U.S. operations, bringing jobs and security back to American soil.
Critics may whine about the challenges of competing with cheap foreign manufacturers, but supporters know this is about more than economics—it’s about survival. Marshall praised Trump’s leadership, stating, “The Biden administration sat on this issue since Covid and with President Trump’s pen, I hope he solved the problem and our nation is going to be safer.”
By prioritizing domestic production and stockpiling critical APIs, Trump is shielding Americans from foreign dependence and ensuring our nation’s health and security for generations to come.
PRESIDENT TRUMP SIGNED AN EXECUTIVE ORDER TO ADDRESS THE PHARMACEUTICAL SUPPLY CHAIN CRISIS IN AMERICA@jsolomonReports details.@AmandaHead pic.twitter.com/7R1g6jiIbP
— Real America's Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) August 14, 2025
