US Weighs Legal Action After China Hoards Medical Supplies

By Danielle Ong First Posted: Apr 06, 2020 07:40 AM EDT

(Photo: Reuters/Yuri Gripas)

The Trump administration is weighing legal actions against China after leading US manufacturers claimed the Asian country prohibited them from exporting their products to the USA amid COVID-19 pandemic.

Two US manufacturing companies, 3M and Honeywell, said they were not allowed to export supplies of N95 respirators, booties, gloves, and other medical equipment produced in their factories located in China since January.

The Chinese government reportedly paid their products at a standard rate, but vehemently prohibited the manufacturers from selling it to other nations.

Official data posted by China showed it imported 2.6 billion pieces of protective gear from January 24 and February 29, items they procured from countries in the European Union. The materials included 2 billion masks and 25 million PPE.

Last week, US President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act in a bid to get manufacturing giants to churn out more protective gear amid the dwindling number of medical supplies in the nation.

“They [China] have victimized the world once and now they are re-victimizing with their profiteering off of PPE that is desperately needed in the countries that are being ravaged by the Chinese coronavirus.” Good piece via @realDailyWire @RealSaavedra https://t.co/SwPRbbBtdm — Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) April 6, 2020

Jenna Ellis, Trump's senior legal adviser, said China's actions equate to murder in criminal law. She also said prohibiting the exportation of necessary medical equipment used to save coronavirus patients and lower risk of infection in front liners are "cold-blood, premeditated actions."

Michael Wessel, a commission member, said the ban is affecting American health care facilities, effectively starving them of PPEs. He also said China is hoarding the products for their use at the expense of other countries.

Wessel believes the Chinese policy aims to curry goodwill with Americans after the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak was brought about by the Chinese government's decisions. A senior trade adviser describes the ban "political warfare."

Steve Bannon, a former White House strategist, said China's behavior resembles a "biological Chernobyl."

"They're at war with the West," he said.

The US government is now looking at legal options, including filing a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights or the United Nations.

Medical Supply Shortage

President Trump said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is cooperating with various states to provide them with much needed medical supplies in the next coming days.

According to reports, the Trump administration sent out more than 300 million gloves, 8 million face masks, and 3 million gowns to state hospitals and health care providers across the nation. They also expect more supplies to come in via cargo planes.

FEMA has also delivered ventilators to numerous states, including New Jersey, Michigan, and Illinois. The state of Washington donated 400 working ventilators to be used by other states.

The Trump administration recently purchased almost 29 million doses of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug, to be distributed to the states. President Trump has publicly touted the drug as a potential treatment for coronavirus. There is a lack of evidence about its effectivity; however, initial reports produced promising results.

"We have it stockpiled," Trump said. "We have a lot of it. We hope it works."