VOA慢速英语--新冠疫情显示出对中国医疗用品的依赖性

The spread of the coronavirus has placed severe pressure on the world's health care system. It also has shown worldwide dependence¹ on China for medical supplies and drugs.

China holds an important position in the world market for active pharmaceutical² ingredients (API), the substances that make up the drugs people use. China also is a top producer of supplies such as thermometers, medical face coverings and other equipment.

The outbreak of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China, in December worried industry experts. They knew that reduced production could lead to severe medical shortages around the world.

In the U.S.

In the United States, President Donald Trump³ has called for the return of supply chains from outside the country. And American lawmakers appear to be willing to take some action.

Anna Ashton is senior director of government affairs with the US-China Business Council. She said, "We are seeing at least 10 bills that focus on ensuring the security of pharmaceutical supply chains."

A number of proposals would require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other agencies to find out where drugs come from. And Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas has introduced a new bill to ban the use of federal money to buy drugs manufactured in China.

However, drug companies have expressed concern about having to quickly move their supply chains back to the U.S. The industry group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America warned that such moves take time. Spokesperson Nicole Longo emailed VOA saying building a factory can take five to 10 years and "can cost as much as $2 billion."

William McLaury is a professor at Rutgers Business School. He also directed the supply chain of drug maker⁴ Novartis Pharmaceuticals⁵ Corporation for more than 30 years before joining the university. He said the U.S. would need to help companies with the cost of returning to America. He noted⁶ that production in the country would have to be increased while waiting for government approval of new supplies.

Ashton said discussions are still ongoing⁷ and will take time. But, she said she believed, "...we will see some sort of legislation make its way through the process this year."

Japan and France

The United States is not the only country facing this problem. Many countries including Japan, France and Germany are in a similar situation. Those countries have lost the ability to make some medicines as the worldwide health crisis interferes⁸ with supply chains. Most of the drug ingredients are supplied by other countries.

The Japanese government has moved to ease the problem. On April 7, the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced $2 billion in aid to help Japanese companies move suppliers back to Japan. On May 12, the government said it had begun to work with more than 400 Japanese companies to increase production.

In Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron has promised "full independence" in producing face masks by the end of the year. He said France needs to reach independence in other important medical supplies. The French pharmaceutical company Sanofi has promised to form a new Europe-based business to reduce dependence on Asian drug making.

I'm Mario Ritter Jr.

Words in This Story

pharmaceutical –n. related to the production and sale of drugs and medicines

ingredient(s) –n. materials used to make a food, medicine or similar product

supply chain –n. a network of businesses that provide the materials, manufacturing and services necessary to create the products of an industry for customers in a certain market

tend –v. what often happens

1 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

2 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

5 pharmaceuticals   

n.医药品；药物( pharmaceutical的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the development of new pharmaceuticals 新药的开发
• The companies are pouring trillions of yen into biotechnology research,especially for pharmaceuticals and new seeds. 这些公司将大量资金投入生物工艺学研究，尤其是药品和新种子方面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

8 interferes   

vi. 妨碍，冲突，干涉

参考例句：

• The noise interferes with my work. 这噪音妨碍我的工作。
• That interferes with my plan. 那干扰了我的计划。