Sen. Marco Rubio is insistent that a major lesson of the coronavirus crisis is that the United States must halt its dependence on China for medical supplies and return drug manufacturing back home, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
"I think the fundamental question is, are there certain things that a country should be able to do for itself, especially in a time of conflict or emergency?" the Florida Republican told the publication. "And the answer is yes."
In order to further his goal, Rubio proposed bipartisan legislation in March that would start to reverse American dependence on foreign nations, including China.
"I think one of the great flaws of the last 20, 30 years is the belief that we have reached the point where countries could be heavily interdependent on one another for things critical to their international security and that somehow that would never be impacted," the senator said. "That, in essence, nation-states would not come into play in a time of conflict or in a time of emergency."
He told Fox & Friends last month that even though drugs are often assembled in the U.S., the key components often come from China because American pharmaceutical companies want cheaper labor
Rubio pointed out that the U.S. was incorrect when it opened its trade ties with Beijing two decades ago in its belief that capitalism would change China.
What occurred instead, he said, was that the U.S. is now dependent on them for many supplies.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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