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# GOP Senators Urge Increase in Foreign Inspections
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/gop-senators-urge-increase-in-foreign-inspections/
- Published: 2023-12-13T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T14:18:30.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: FDA Policy/General, #legacy-id-D5155987

Nine Republican senators are urging FDA to increase its foreign inspections of medical product manufacturing facilities. In a [12/13 letter](https://www.rubio.senate.gov/rubio-colleagues-question-fda-standards-for-medical-manufacturing-inspections/?ref=fdaweb.com) to FDA commissioner **Robert Califf**, the lawmakers cite the agency’s own data and ask why it completed “only eight inspections of Chinese drug manufacturers and zero of Chinese device manufacturers in 2022,” while completing 897 domestic drug manufacturer inspections and 1,706 inspections of domestic device manufacturers in 2022.

“Americans deserve to have confidence that the drugs and devices they purchase will improve their health, whether they were produced here or abroad,” the letter says. “We must also ensure that foreign manufacturers are held to the same standard as domestic manufacturers to avoid putting our workers and factories at a disadvantage in the global market. It is clear that the FDA is not taking adequate steps to ensure a level playing field for American industry.”

The letter asks the agency to promptly answer the following questions:

1. Why were there zero FDA inspections of foreign medical device manufacturers in 2022?
2. How many inspections of foreign drug manufacturers and device manufacturers does the agency plan to complete in 2023 and 2024?
3. Given the low number of inspections of foreign manufacturers compared to domestic manufacturers, how can FDA guarantee that drugs and devices manufactured overseas meet the same requirements as those produced in the U.S.?
4. What actions is FDA taking to increase the number of foreign inspections?
5. What would need to change for FDA to complete a similar number of foreign and domestic inspections?

The letter was signed by senators **Marco Rubio** (R-FL), **Cindy Hyde-Smith** (R-MS), **Marsha Blackburn** (R-TN), **Mike Braun** (R-IN), **Pete Ricketts** (R-NE), **Josh Hawley** (R-MO), **Eric Schmitt** (R-MO), **Roger Wicker** (R-MS), and **James Lankford** (R-OK).