CNN – It’s the most prescribed antibiotic in the United States, used by tens of millions of people every year to treat bacterial infections including pneumonia, stomach ulcers, and strep throat.
Yet, it isn’t exactly common knowledge that amoxicillin, a relative of penicillin that has been in chronic short supply, has only one manufacturer in the US, or that China controls 80% of the raw materials required for its production.
That’s a major concern as US President Donald Trump threatens to impose tariffs on pharmaceutical imports.
“Increasing trade hostilities or more protracted conflicts could devastate our access to amoxicillin or the ingredients used to make it should Beijing weaponize its supply chain dominance,” Rick Jackson, founder and CEO of Jackson Healthcare, which owns America’s sole amoxicillin manufacturer, told CNN.
Last year, 96% of US imports of hydrocortisone, 90% of imports of ibuprofen, and 73% of imports of acetaminophen all came from China, according to CNN calculations based on trade data from the Census Bureau.
With the US already facing shortages of many essential medications, experts warn that Beijing could potentially exploit this reliance as leverage in an escalating trade war.
Tensions between the two sides have soared since Trump unleashed his trade assault on the world’s second-largest economy.
Leland Miller, a commissioner at the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, said the “chokepoints” that China holds over the US pharmaceutical supply are “detrimental to American security.”
A ‘catastrophic’ interruption
With China making 80% of the world’s raw materials for amoxicillin, according to Jackson, it’s a clear example of just how vulnerable the world could be to “Chinese political or economic whims.”
“Any interruption by China along the lengthy amoxicillin supply chain could be catastrophic, particularly in the face of a potential bacterial epidemic,” he said.
