Trudeau warns U.S. against denying exports of medical supplies to Canada
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday it would be a "mistake" for the U.S. to limit exports of medical supplies to Canada in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
His comments came hours after Minnesota manufacturing giant 3M said it has received a request from the Trump administration to stop exporting N95 respirators to Canada and Latin America as demand grows in the U.S.
Trudeau said his government is working to impress upon the U.S. administration that essential supplies and medical professionals move in both directions across the border. “These are things that Americans rely on and it would be a mistake to create blockages or reduce the amount of back-and-forth trade of essential goods and services, including medical goods, across our border,” he said.
The prime minister said he remains confident that Canada will receive the equipment it needs to fight the coronavirus. He did not say whether he planned to speak with President Donald Trump about the issue, but pointed to a statement from 3M that warns against limiting exports. “3M has indicated that it understands how important it is to continue to deliver on orders to places like Canada," he said.
In a news release Friday morning, the company said there are "significant humanitarian implications of ceasing respirator supplies to healthcare workers in Canada and Latin America, where we are a critical supplier of respirators."
3M argued that halting exports would cause other countries to retaliate and cease exports to the U.S., leading to an overall decrease in the number of respirators available in the U.S. “That is the opposite of what we and the administration, on behalf of the American people, both seek,” the statement says.
In a press conference after Trudeau's briefing, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government is "just going to pull out all the stops on this one." She said many ministers have reached out to their U.S. counterparts, and added that she spoke on Friday morning with Kirsten Hillman, Canada's ambassador to the U.S.
Freeland didn't respond directly to questions about possible retaliatory measures Canada may consider, but said she spoke Thursday night with United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and emphasized that Canadian doctors and nurses living in Windsor cross the U.S. border daily to work in Detroit. "Our government … is prepared to do whatever it takes to defend the national interest," she said. Ontario Premier Doug Ford has also spoken with Lighthizer about the issue.
Freeland said Canada has enough supplies for the moment, but will need more in the coming days. An official working for Procurement Minister Anita Anand confirmed to POLITICO that Canada has placed orders for more than 65 million N95 masks, but would not say how many were to come from 3M, nor how many other suppliers Canada has approached. The official said Anand spoke with the head of 3M Canada Friday morning, but would not confirm whether the company will still fill Canadian orders.
The news comes as Ottawa tries to ramp up domestic production of medical supplies to fight the coronavirus, including masks, ventilators and test kits, in the face of growing global demand for the supplies. However, Canada currently does not produce N95 masks, and there are no immediate plans to start manufacturing the respirators domestically.
The official said 11 million surgical and N95 masks were delivered across Canada this week, including N95 masks manufactured in China.
On Thursday, the Trump administration invoked the Defense Production Act to demand more N95 respirators from 3M, and the White House has cited concerns that not enough of 3M’s global production is coming back to the U.S. In a tweet Thursday evening, U.S. President Donald Trump said the White House “hit 3M hard today after seeing what they were doing with their Masks” and said the company “will have a big price to pay!”
But the company says it has been working since the start of the pandemic to ramp up mask production. In an interview with CNBC, 3M CEO Mike Roman said the company doubled production in January, long before there were demands for more supplies in the U.S. “The narrative we aren’t doing everything we can as a company is just not true,” he said.
In the news release, 3M said the White House has asked the company to increase the number of respirators it imports from overseas operations into the U.S. “We appreciate the assistance of the administration to do exactly that,” the company said.
Andreas Geisel斥責美國不遵守國際貿易規則，形容這種攔途截劫行為是Modern Piracy。
痛罵Trump是山賊/海盜的人太多，大家都習以為常了！
Coronavirus: US accused of ‘piracy’ over mask ‘confiscation’
The US has been accused of redirecting 200,000 Germany-bound masks for its own use, in a move condemned as "modern piracy".
The local government in Berlin said the shipment of US-made masks was "confiscated" in Bangkok.
The FFP2 masks, which were ordered by Berlin's police force, did not reach their destination, it said.
Andreas Geisel, Berlin's interior minister, said the masks were presumably diverted to the US.
The US company that makes the masks, 3M, has been prohibited from exporting its medical products to other countries under a Korean-War-era law invoked by President Donald Trump.
He said US authorities had taken custody of nearly 200,000 N95 respirators, 130,000 surgical masks and 600,000 gloves. He did not say where they were taken into US hands.
Mr Geisel said the diversion of masks from Berlin amounted to an "act of modern piracy", urging the Trump administration to adhere to international trading rules.
"This is not how you deal with transatlantic partners," the minister said. "Even in times of global crisis, there should be no wild-west methods."
A 'treasure hunt' for masks
Mr Geisel's comments echo the sentiments of other European officials, who have complained about the buying and diversion practices of the US.
In France, for example, regional leaders say they are struggling to secure medical supplies as American buyers outbid them.
The president of the Île-de-France region, Valérie Pécresse, compared the scramble for masks to a "treasure hunt".
"I found a stock of masks that was available and Americans - I'm not talking about the American government - but Americans, outbid us," Ms Pécresse said. "They offered three times the price and they proposed to pay up-front."
As the coronavirus pandemic worsens, demand for crucial medical supplies, such as masks and respirators, has surged worldwide.
Earlier this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it was considering changing its guidance on whether people should wear face masks in public.
At present, the WHO advises that masks do not provide sufficient protection from infection to justify mass usage. But some countries have taken a different view, including the US.
On Friday, Mr Trump announced that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) will now recommend that Americans use non-medical, cloth face coverings to help prevent the spread of the virus.
The US has 273,880 recorded cases of Covid-19, the highest number in the world by a large margin.
Covid-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, has affected more than one million people and killed almost 60,000 globally, the latest figures show.
'Significant humanitarian implications'
In a separate development, 3M said the Trump administration had asked it to stop exporting US-made N95 respirator masks to Canada and Latin America.
The request had "significant humanitarian implications", the company warned, and could prompt other countries to act in kind.
The company says it manufactures about 100 million N95 masks per month - about a third are made in the US, and the rest produced overseas.
President Trump said he had used the Defence Production Act to "hit 3M hard", without providing additional details. The law dates back to 1950 and allows a president to force companies to make products for national defence.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Friday that "it would be a mistake to create blockages or reduce trade".
