According to an online article in The Almagest, the FDA is
issuing penalties to Indian drug manufacturers for adulterated and fake
medicines. The penalties have ranged in
severity from large fines to outright bans.
Because 40% of U.S. consumer drugs are supplied by India, these penalties
can have a major impact on the American marketplace. Conversely, pharmaceutical manufacturing is a
key sector in the Indian economy and any disruption can have major implications
for the Indian workforce, as well (Francescangeli, 2014).
As discussed in class, the collapse of cultural, economic
and political barrier is in evidence. It
is cultural in terms of social responsibility, economic in terms of the
implications for both the American consumer and Indian manufacturers, and
political in the FDA’s role in regulating Indian manufacturers.
There is a sovereignty question present here. Traditionally, international relations were
based upon sovereign interests, but in transnational social spaces the lines
are blurred and unilateral policy across traditional national boundaries is no
longer possible (Barber, 2002). The
regulatory power of the FDA is an assertion of American sovereignty, but such
policy has a significant effect on the Indian labor force. And in a world economy, the leverage of labor
to protest policy is diminished as the labor market now competes globally
(Sklair, 1999).
This is a manifestation of the idea of Glocalization, where
the impact of the local must be understood in terms of its effect on the global
and vice-versa (Beck, 2000). In this
case, the effects are two-way. American
values and consumer needs are legitimate in terms of safety and should be understood,
as well as the impact of unilateral bans and resulting resent from India. The two economies are tied closely together
and issues of globalization need to be addressed in order to navigate the
conflict described in the article.
References
Francescangeli, C. (2014, February). Medicines imported from
India not safe: FDA. Retrieved from http://www.thealmagest.com/medicines-imported-india-safe-fda/10222.
Barber, B. (2002, January 3). Beyond Jihad vs. McWorld. The Nation. Retrieved from http://www.thenation.com/article/beyond-jihad-vs-mcworld
Beck, U.
(2000). The world horizon opens up: On the sociology of globalization. In What is globalization? (pp. 17-30).
Cambridge: Polity Press.
Sklair, L.
(1999). Competing conceptions of globalization. Journal of World-System Research, 2, 143-163.
