U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., August 5, 2020.
Joshua Roberts | Reuters
President Donald Trump will sign an executive order requiring the U.S. government to buy “essential” drugs from American companies, White House trade advisor Peter Navarro announced Thursday.
The president is expected to sign the order during his trip in Ohio later Thursday, Navarro told reporters on a conference call. The United States is “dangerously over-dependent on foreign nations for our essential medicines.”
The order will require the U.S. government to develop a list of essential medicines and buy them from U.S. companies instead of from foreign countries like China, Navarro said. The World Health Organization already has a list of essential medicines, but the U.S. won’t need some of those drugs because of “where we are located,” he said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.