Owen Klinsky
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio wrote to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Wednesday, slamming the White House agencies for permitting the distribution of pharmaceuticals from manufacturers tied to Chinese slave labor.
An Oct. 8 report from global security watchdog Centers for Advanced Defense Studies found two pharmaceutical producers based in China’s Xinjiang province, a region known for the “genocide” and enslavement of religious minorities, are permitted to distribute their products in the U.S.. In his Wednesday oversight letter, Rubio claimed the distribution of the companies’ pharmaceuticals violates the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, calling for an immediate ban of the Xinjiang-made products and demanding DHS and FDA conduct a thorough review of all drug manufacturers authorized to distribute in America.
“Aside from the significant national security and public health risks associated from sourcing and distributing pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from the PRC [People’s Republic of China], banning companies likely engaging in forced human labor and human rights abuses from doing business in the United States is a foundational tenet of promoting freedom and democracy, and is the reason for the enactment of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in 2021,” Rubio wrote. “I urge you to rectify this dangerous transgression of the law and immediately ban all distribution of products from these companies in the United States.”
Rubio Letter to FDA re Ban on Xinjiang Pharmaceuticals 10.30.24
Xinjiang Nuziline Bio-Pharmaceutical Co. and SEL Biochem Xinjiang Co. are currently included on the FDA’s Registered Drug Establishments Site, meaning they are able to import drugs into the United States, despite being linked to slave labor in Xinjiang.
“I am concerned that the FDA and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not conducted sufficient oversight into the pharmaceutical and API producers allowed to conduct business in the U.S., nor made sufficient efforts to uphold U.S. law,” the letter states. “The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act assures the American people that the products they purchase were made without slave labor. It is clear that the lack of oversight by the FDA has not made this true.”
The FDA and DHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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