Attorney General Marshall Leads Coalition Alerts National Security Council to Exploitation of FDA Approved Drugs by China Supply Chain
For Immediate Release:
September 18, 2026
For press inquiries only, contact:
Amanda Priest (334) 322-5694
William Califf (334) 604-3230
(Montgomery, Ala) – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall submitted a letter on behalf of 20 states to Secretary of State Marco Rubio alerting the administration to a grave national security risk to the pharmaceutical supply chain that is actively being exploited by Chinese-sourced businesses. The letter identifies national security risks from dangerous pharmaceutical ingredients used in popular compounded GLP-1 drugs, including semaglutide, tirzepatide, and retatrutide. In one instance, a business in China exploiting the gaps in oversight had direct ties to entities who manufacture fentanyl.
“Chinese businesses quickly found and exploited a gap in the system that happens to be a direct line to Americans who use these popular injectable drugs. This is a direct and immediate risk to consumers’ health and safety, as well as a national security risk. Our coalition is urging Secretary Rubio and the National Security Council to immediately establish greater oversight on the Green List program, or halt these potentially deadly ingredients from entering the country under the guise of helpful products,” stated Attorney General Marshall.
In September 2025, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the creation of a “Green List” of suppliers, which has effectively given Chinese suppliers the ability “to ship unapproved, knock-off products to the United States without detention or inspection.” As the letter states, despite efforts to verify the “true source, chain of command, and downstream use of the ingredients in real time,” the Green List has become a proven laundering channel.
Specifically, Chinese company Harbin Jixianglong Biotech Co., Ltd (Harbin) was found to have purchased knock-off semaglutide from a non-Green List facility that was not registered with the FDA. Since Harbin was on the Green List, it was only after an on-site inspection that it was discovered that Harbin had repackaged and relabeled the non-Green List products under Harbin’s name, changed the manufacturing and retest dates, and distributed to the United States.
The letter follows the Attorney General’s settlement with a business selling research-grade versions of tirzepatide and semaglutide, both GLP-1 medications, in violation of Alabama’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
The Alabama-led letter was signed on to by attorneys general from Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia.
The full letter can be found here.
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