Expanding 'Buy America' Will Slow Vaccine Development

Federal policymakers are considering laws that would force federal agencies to rely solely on medicines made in the United States. This would cover the entire production process, from raw materials to the final, pharmacy ready pill.

Instinctively, one might take comfort in this mandate — technically an expansion of "Buy America" rules that date back nearly a century — as it would reduce our reliance on the foreign laboratories that supply American drug companies with the "active pharmaceutical ingredients" they need to manufacture medicines.

But that comfort would be misplaced, as the mandate would delay the deployment of a coronavirus vaccine, create shortages of many critical medicines, and raise drug prices. It doesn't make any sense.