LETTER TO SECRETARY RUBIO • SEPTEMBER 17, 2026

The Knock-Off GLP‑1 Supply Chain Is a National Security Threat

The Knock-Off GLP‑1 Supply Chain Is a National Security Threat

The Knock-Off GLP‑1 Supply Chain Is a National Security Threat

The Attorneys General of Alabama and 19 other states are asking the National Security Council to address the Chinese-sourced ingredient supply chain behind unapproved, knock-off GLP‑1 drugs.

The Attorneys General of Alabama and 19 other states are asking the National Security Council to address the Chinese-sourced ingredient supply chain behind unapproved, knock-off GLP‑1 drugs.

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THE CONTEXT

Backing the White House’s Push to Secure America’s Drug Supply

Backing the White House’s Push to Secure America’s Drug Supply

Backing the White House’s Push to Secure America’s Drug Supply

The attorneys general open their letter by commending the National Security Council and the Administration for strengthening the resilience of America’s pharmaceutical supply chains. The President’s August 2025 Executive Order on the Strategic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Reserve recognizes that drug ingredients are a strategic national-security vulnerability—and the White House notes that only about 10 percent of these ingredients, by volume, are made in the United States. Knock-off GLP-1 ingredients from China are an emerging threat that fits squarely within that concern.

THE ISSUE

The Vulnerability in the Knock-Off GLP‑1 Supply Chain

The Vulnerability in the Knock-Off GLP‑1 Supply Chain

The Vulnerability in the Knock-Off GLP‑1 Supply Chain

In September 2025, the FDA created a Green List (Import Alert 66-80) that lets approved suppliers ship GLP-1 drug ingredients into the United States without detention or inspection at the border. The drugs at issue include semaglutide, tirzepatide, and retatrutide—which is still in clinical trials and has not been approved by the FDA.

In September 2025, the FDA created a Green List (Import Alert 66-80) that lets approved suppliers ship GLP-1 drug ingredients into the United States without detention or inspection at the border. The drugs at issue include semaglutide, tirzepatide, and retatrutide—which is still in clinical trials and has not been approved by the FDA.

In May 2026, the FDA issued a warning letter to Harbin Jixianglong Biotech Co., Ltd., a Chinese company on the Green List. An on-site inspection found that Harbin had bought knock-off semaglutide from an unregistered, non-Green List facility, relabeled it under its own name, changed the manufacturing and retest dates, and shipped it to the United States. Because Harbin was on the Green List, none of those shipments were detained or inspected at the border.

In May 2026, the FDA issued a warning letter to Harbin Jixianglong Biotech Co., Ltd., a Chinese company on the Green List. An on-site inspection found that Harbin had bought knock-off semaglutide from an unregistered, non-Green List facility, relabeled it under its own name, changed the manufacturing and retest dates, and shipped it to the United States. Because Harbin was on the Green List, none of those shipments were detained or inspected at the border.

“If the government cannot verify the true source, chain of custody, and downstream use of these ingredients in real time, a Green List can quickly become a laundering channel rather than a safeguard.”

— Letter from 20 state attorneys general to Secretary Rubio

KEY FACTS

Why This Is a National-Security Issue

Why This Is a National-Security Issue

Why This Is a National-Security Issue

~10%

Share of drug ingredients for U.S. medicines that are made domestically, according to the White House.

Fentanyl ties

Axios reports that Chinese firms tied to fentanyl precursor supply chains are now selling weight-loss peptides in the U.S.

Caught too late

The Harbin scheme was caught by an on-site inspection—not by the Green List’s border safeguards.

Heparin, 2007

Contaminated heparin from China killed or harmed many Americans. The letter warns this follows the same pattern.

THE ASK

What the Attorneys General Are Asking For

What the Attorneys General Are Asking For

What the Attorneys General Are Asking For

The coalition asks how the National Security Council can help ensure the federal government treats this as a national-security threat—not merely a drug-regulatory matter—and that states get the information they need to protect patients:

1.

What federal agencies know about foreign GLP-1 and peptide supply chains and their ties to fentanyl producers

2.

What warning signs state attorneys general should be watching for

3.

How state and federal partners can better share information before this market grows further out of control

Read the Full Letter

Read the Full Letter

Read the Full Letter

Sent September 17, 2026, to Secretary of State Marco Rubio by the Attorneys General of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia.

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