Rep Nicole Malliotakis says US self-sufficiency is a ‘national security issue’

Representative Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) is speaking out about the need for the US to become "self-sufficient" in its supply chains for national security reasons, particularly in regard to the pharmaceutical industry.

Malliotakis appeared on Fox Business where she criticized the Biden administration for failing to bring pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing back to the US after the COVID-19 pandemic. She added that she hopes President Donald Trump will act differently and address this issue.

“This is so critical. If we learned anything from COVID, we can’t rely on other countries, particularly Communist China,” Malliotakis said.

“We’re working to get something in the tax package that would actually jumpstart domestic manufacturing for pharmaceuticals, for medical supply chain,” she added. “I believe President Trump is going to do it, and we need to do it… we got to be self-sufficient. It’s a national security issue.”

Malliotakis is working to push through an investment tax credit for manufacturing facilities that open in the US. The move follows concerns over supply chain vulnerabilities that intensified during the pandemic, when the US faced shortages due to its reliance on China, especially with medical equipment. Trump has consistently pushed for increased domestic manufacturing to reduce dependency on foreign nations. 

As the Trump administration has made it a priority to implement policy changes that incentivize domestic manufacturing, including issuing sweeping tariffs on foreign goods, large pharmaceutical companies seem to be planning accordingly. Last month, pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly recently announced plans to invest $27 billion in four new US manufacturing sites. The company’s CEO, David Ricks, explained that the move represents “the largest pharmaceutical expansion investment in US history.”