Importing and Exporting Covid-19 Products

Overview:

The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), first in the People's Republic of China (PRC or China), and now globally, including in the United States, is drawing attention to the ways in which the United States and other economies depend on critical manufacturing and global value chains that rely on production based in in the PRC and other countries. Congress is particularly concerned about these dependencies and has passed legislation to better understand and address them.

An area of particular concern to Congress in the current environment is U.S. shortages of medical supplies - including personal protective equipment (PPE) and pharmaceuticals -as the United States steps up efforts to contain COVID-19 with limited domestic stockpiles and insufficient U.S. industrial capacity. PPE, antibiotics, and active pharmaceutical ingredients have led to shortages of critical medical supplies in the United States.