Growing up as a kid in the United States, it seemed like everything I touched said “Made in China”. Whether it was a shirt, a toy, a backpack or even a pencil. I always wondered why one of the most powerful places in the world was not making their own goods.

It has never made sense to me that the United States did not produce more of their own goods because it would help the economy and give people job opportunities. In earlier times, the United States used to make way more items here, including cars. Today, a large majority of products are made in China. As we are currently in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Americans are beginning to take notice of how many important medications and other pharmaceuticals such antibiotics are coming from China.

I want to know why the United States would choose to depend on another country for something as important as pharmaceuticals. I think if another pandemic happened in the future, it would be better to have our own pharmaceuticals as opposed to outsourcing from another country. I believe that we rely too heavily on China for medications. Despite being an economic superpower, we have very few pharmaceutical plants in the United States.  If we were to ever go to war with China, and they cut off our supply of pharmaceuticals, the U.S. could face serious consequences and a possible catastrophe with a war on big pharma.   I think the United States needs to step up and have our own pharmaceutical production, so in tough times such as this pandemic, as well as any future medical emergencies, we do not need to rely on a different country for these resources.