Ranking Member Ro Khanna and Select Committee Democrats Question Witnesses During Hearing on How China is Cornering the Market on Our Medicines

WASHINGTON – Yesterday, Representative Ro Khanna (CA-17), Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, along with Democratic members, questioned witnesses at a Select Committee hearing examining how China is cornering the market on our medicines.

Ranking Member Khanna questioned Mr. Patrick Cashman, President of USAntibiotics, on the effectiveness of tariffs on key materials and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) used to produce pharmaceuticals.

“We’re not producing the key starting materials here. We're not producing the API here. They're being produced in China. So even if we tariff them, we're still dependent on them. And we're basically paying them...a higher amount because of the tariff, but it's not doing anything to bring the actual production here. Is that an accurate read of your testimony?” Khanna asked.

Mr. Cashman responded, “Yes, Ranking Member, that is accurate. They [the Chinese government] don’t look at this as a business enterprise. I believe they look at it as a strategic asset that they can use to leverage against us. So, the cost of production is irrelevant to them. They'll work to drive anybody out of business if they have to.”

Khanna followed up: “How much do you think it would cost the United States if we were to have federal procurement agreements and help finance production for key starting materials and for the API for something like amoxicillin?”

“When I look at the cost of our medications versus competitors from India and China, we're literally a few cents a dose difference from those costs. When we look at the cost of API from China compared to other sources, the difference can be as much as 20 to 40%. So it's a significant cost difference. But to have an investment here in the United States to produce API would be a relatively modest investment compared to many things we spend money on,” said Mr. Cashman.

Khanna then asked if federal procurement for key starting materials and API could help bring production to the United States.

Cashman responded, “I believe that would be very helpful. But we also have to keep in mind that the Chinese will continue to drive prices down. So, there needs to be mechanisms to control or restrict the market access of some of those products.”

Khanna concluded by saying, “it seems to me a combination of strategic tariffs and smart industrial policies is what we need.”

Select Committee Democrats spoke about the need to strengthen domestic pharmaceutical supply chains and expressed concern over the Trump administration’s cuts to key health agencies and medical research.

Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11) highlighted how her district is uniquely equipped to bolster pharmaceutical supply chains at home: “We have the institutions, the talent and the infrastructure to be part of the solution,” she noted. At the same time, Rep. Brown cautioned progress can only be made “if federal policy is aligned to support domestic manufacturing, strengthen our research ecosystem and build resilient supply chains with trusted partners.”

Congresswoman Kathy Castor (FL-14) spoke about health agency cuts, noting over 3500 FDA jobs have been eliminated by the Trump administration. She also drew attention to past difficulties the FDA has had with its limited authority and access to opaque manufacturing data.

Congresswoman Haley Stevens (MI-11) asked about the Trump administration’s cuts to the NIH and other key agencies and drew attention to her efforts to reinstate funding for medical research and cancer trials. She said, “It strikes me that if we as the United States of America, are ceding R&D, if we're ceding medical research, particularly with the public dollar, that [research] is going to China.”

Congresswoman Jill Tokuda (HI-02) drew on her experience serving on the House Armed Services Committee and raised concerns about the military’s “dependence on Chinese supply chains for critical, life-saving pharmaceuticals.” Rep. Tokuda also spoke about the need to utilize existing global forums, such as the G7, to coordinate policy and de-risk from China.

Video of Ranking Member Khanna’s opening statement is available here.

Video of the full Select Committee hearing is available here.