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# Replace Global Medical Supply Chain: Economist
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/replace-global-medical-supply-chain-economist/
- Published: 2020-03-31T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T16:09:21.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, Devices, #legacy-id-D5146464

Coalition for a Prosperous America chief economist **Jeff Ferry** says it’s time for the United States to restore its capability to manufacture medical items here, rather than relying on a global supply chain. Writing in an opinion [column](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/reshoring-pharmaceutical-and-medical-device-manufacturing-would-save-lives-create-jobs-2020-03-30?mod=newsviewer%5Fclick&ref=fdaweb.com), Ferry says that equipment needed to fight the Covid-19 virus comes mostly from Asia and there are shortages throughout the U.S.

“The United States is the world’s largest economy and needs to have the capability to make these vital healthcare supplies at home,” Ferry writes. “Only 30 years ago we did have that capability. However, the rush to globalize, and to abandon key manufacturing sectors, has left the nation vulnerable during this crisis. It’s time to restore our capability to manufacture at home.”

A Coalition for a Prosperous America economic modeling exercise found that cutting America’s pharmaceutical imports roughly in half and sourcing them through domestic production would generate 804,000 new jobs and add $200 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product. Reshoring half of the medical supplies produced overseas could generate an additional 302,000 jobs and add $54 billion to the gross domestic product, Ferry says.