Trump signs executive order to encourage US drug manufacturing

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(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that aims to reduce the time it takes to approve pharmaceutical plants in the country, as part of new regulations to encourage domestic manufacturing.

The order directs the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to streamline reviews and work with domestic manufacturers to provide early support before facilities come online.

It also directs the health regulator to improve enforcement of active-ingredient source reporting by foreign producers and “consider publicly displaying a list of facilities that do not comply”.

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said during the signing of the executive order that the FDA plans to start doing surprise inspections of overseas plants, a move he said would bring the oversight more in line with the United States.

The order also directs the Environmental Protection Agency to speed up the construction of facilities.

The actions are the latest by Trump to shift manufacturing of drugs to the United States. In recent months, he has repeatedly threatened tariffs on the pharmaceutical imports, which have long been spared from trade wars due to potential harms.

Analysts and companies have estimated that a new manufacturing plant could take at least five years to build.

In a statement, the White House said that such a long timeline was “unacceptable from a national-security standpoint.”

“As we invest in the future, we will permanently bring our medical supply chains back home. We will produce our medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, and treatments right here in the United States,” Trump said in a statement.

The Washington Post first reported on the new executive order.

Last month, the Trump administration launched probes into imports of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors as it looks to impose tariffs on both sectors on grounds that extensive reliance on foreign production of medicine and chips is a national security threat.

Although there is little clarity on the rates and timings of any sector-specific tariffs as of now, Trump said on Monday he would make an announcement in the next two weeks.

The industry could be in for a big hit if Trump goes ahead with his plans, since the U.S. imports more than $200 billion in prescription drugs.

Companies including Roche, Novartis, Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson have announced sizeable investments in U.S. manufacturing in recent weeks.

(Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru and Jarrett Renshaw in Washington; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Anil D’Silva)