Many Americans have finally awakened to the fact that we are over-dependent on China and other countries for both critical and desirable products and supplies.

It was never supposed to be this way. We have a Declaration of Independence, not a declaration of inter-dependence. President Abraham Lincoln once said, "I... would continue (trade) where it is necessary, and discontinue it, where it is not. As instance: I would continue commerce so far as it is employed in bringing us coffee, and I would discontinue it so far as it is employed in bringing us cotton goods."

According to a survey conducted May 12-14 by Washington-based FTI Consulting, a business advisory firm:

• 40% of Americans said they wouldn't buy products from China
• 55% don't think China can be trusted to follow through on its trade-deal commitments signed in January to buy more U.S. products
• 78% percent said they'd be willing to pay more for products if the company that made them moved manufacturing out of China
• 66% said they favor raising import restrictions over the pursuit of free-trade deals as a better way to boost the U.S. economy
• 86% of respondents say the U.S. relies too heavily on foreign supply chains.

As we attempt to lessen our dependence on China for essential drugs, India hopes to fill the void. However, generic drugs account for more than 90% of all prescriptions in the U.S. Even though most generics (antibiotics included) that are imported from India—India imports nearly 70% of the active ingredients for its drugs from China.

Fortunately, we have some leverage to avoid any retaliation from de-coupling from China, since it is very dependent on the U.S. for cancer drugs. Of the 54 cancer drugs launched between 2013 and 2017, only three were available within two years in China.

If you are a fan of 'Buy American' issues like these, you may want to join my 'How Americans Can Buy American' Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/howtobuyamerican/. When you do, you'll be joining thousands of like-minded Americans.

I started the 'How Americans Can Buy American' Facebook group over ten years ago. Last month, there were 7,500 members. It has more than doubled to over 17,000 since then. As you might guess, there is a lot of discussion about how to find and buy American-made products with an emphasis on American-owned companies.

The 'How Americans Can Buy American' group is one of the biggest Buy American groups on Facebook. It is not the absolute biggest only because there are certain rules for joining the group. These rules include no profanity, no name-calling, or bullying. The group is entirely non-partisan, which means no grandstanding for or against conservatives, liberals, democrats, republicans, or any particular candidate (unless the post is related to promoting 'Buy American' legislation). There are plenty of groups and pages on Facebook to argue about politics. My group is not one of them.

Also, please check out my new book (pub. date January 2020) titled UNCONSTITUTIONAL: Our Founding Fathers Rejected FREE TRADE And So Should We at www.rejectfreetrade.com. It is incredibly crucial that we stop allowing China to continue to import its cheap products and the U.S. unemployment that goes along with it. We cannot allow China to become the world's number one economic superpower. My new book details how we can stop that from happening.

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