The former deputy advises on the pharmaceutical level Abraham Agreements

Cathy McMorris Rodgers continues his work on the affairs of the Middle East after leaving Capitol Hill.

The former deputy recently spoke to Fox News Digital of his decision to join the American Education Association Israel (USIEA) as a principal researcher to help cultivate the group’s leadership in the pharmaceutical space.

“I am really delighted to help advise the US Israel Education Association, both as a former member of the Congress, but also someone who is very favorable and thinks that the American-Israeli relationship must be a priority,” Rodgers told Fox News Digital. “I specifically advise them on an initiative concerning the pharmaceutical supply chains which differ from friends in the region of the Abraham agreement.”

As a co-founder of the Caucus of Abraham Agreements, Rodgers knows the complex relations that the first Trump administration was able to train in the Middle East, bringing the Israel and Arabs together.

Former vice-president Mike Pence: five years later, the Abraham agreements still open the way

Then-rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., Expresses itself during a house subcommittee on energy, the climate and the network security audience in Washington, DC, Tuesday, February 6, 2024. (Valerie Plesch / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“I understand how vulnerable we have become because our pharmaceutical supply chain, many of them are controlled by China. So this initiative aligns with some of the priorities I had while I served in Congress,” added Rodgers.

The Trump administration has brought back to the United States manufacturing an absolute priority. However, when domestic production is not possible, a friendship could be the solution, based on close relationships to obtain critical supplies.

Regarding pharmaceutical products, China dominates the current market, in particular with regard to the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and generic drugs, said Rodgers. In July, The BrooKings Institution published a report in which he estimated that Chinese APIs were included in approximately a quarter of the volume of medication sold in the United States

Donald Trump says that 600,000 Chinese students could be authorized in the United States to study in his colleges while waiting for a potential trade agreement with China. (Fox News)

Opinion: Trump’s historical agreement is the real key to peace in the Middle East

“We see because of President Trump’s prices against China, many pharmaceutical companies are in terms of. Bahrain and others, we could both find raw materials and these countries invest a lot in research and development and in manufacturing,” said Rodgers.

The former deputy underlined the importance of the Abraham agreements and diplomatic initiatives created under President Donald Trump in 2020. She declared that the initiative had succeeded in creating “government-government” links, and now USIAA sought to develop economic relations between the nations of the Abraham agreements.

Rodgers did not seem concerned about instability in the region which has an impact on pharmaceutical supplies. She told Fox News Digital that other Abraham Accords nations wanted to work with the United States on this initiative.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain Abdullative Bin Rashid Al Zayani and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates Abdullah Bin Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Wave of the Truman Balcony of the White House on September 15, 2020. (Images Alex Wong / Getty)

Click here to obtain the Fox News app

“They want to diversify from what has been historically more energy, oil has dominated,” said Rodgers. “It is an idea that the time has come, I believe and would do it. Serving both the aim of ensuring our national security and to prevent our dependence on foreign opponents like China for these supply chains, but also to rely on the countries of Abraham Agreements and the important relationship there.”

Although she is no longer in Capitol Hill, Rodgers thinks that her former colleagues have an important role to play in the initiative. She said that an absolute priority was to ensure that an FDA office was established in the region, which she hopes will do this year.