Actor and Twitchy favorite called out 3M for selling masks to foreign countries while they’re need desperately here in the U.S.
“What happened to, ‘We’re all in this together’?”:
Florida emergency management official says 3M selling masks to foreign countries.
I usually don’t post on things like this, but Hey 3M! This is infuriating! American companies need to be part of the solution. What happened to, “We’re all in this together”? https://t.co/dnwRtHQvA2— Gary Sinise (@GarySinise) April 3, 2020
Point being,when American Health Care providers & workers need masks so desperately & they seek 2 purchase them, please 3M, make sure you have not sold them all 2 other countries and Spread them around. R folks need these so they can help our citizens https://t.co/OZun0r8JW0
— Gary Sinise (@GarySinise) April 3, 2020
Final comment:I have no problem with 3M selling 2 R friends in Canada & other countries,they need also,I just have a problem when 3M has done so at the expense of being able 2 provide masks to US healthcare workers who day in day out into the belly of the beast at their own risk https://t.co/Rq4oyFVI2L
— Gary Sinise (@GarySinise) April 3, 2020
But we will point out that this is all very complicated. The president ordered FEMA to “prevent export of N95 masks under Defense Production Act”:
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Trump says he is directing FEMA to prevent export of N95 masks under Defense Production Act.
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) April 3, 2020
But 3M is pushing back against this, “citing concerns over the humanitarian impacts” of that move:
Recommended
Wow: Trump administration asks 3M to stop exporting its respirators to Canada and Latin America. 3M says no in new press release, citing concerns over the humanitarian impacts of that decision and saying it could backfire for US https://t.co/TqADTV079R pic.twitter.com/ICnqU6QcOH
— Robbie Gramer (@RobbieGramer) April 3, 2020
We’re already seeing reports that 3M masks headed for Germany and Thailand are now being shipped to the U.S.:
German media reported Friday that hundreds of thousands of masks purchased from manufacturer 3M and intended for Berlin police were diverted to the U.S. as they were being transferred between planes in Thailand. https://t.co/qSPtKWRCBD
— Jill Colvin (@colvinj) April 3, 2020
Canada is mad about it, too:
Trudeau’s response: “trade goes in both directions…there are thousand of nurses in Windsor, who work in Detroit everyday, Americans depend on them…it would be a mistake for both of our countries to limit access to goods and essential personnel”https://t.co/HhW53ePDcV
— Robbie Gramer (@RobbieGramer) April 3, 2020
Lots of the raw materials for the masks come from Canada:
At a time when President Trump is ordering 3M to stop exporting critical medical supplies like respirators to Canada, a mill in B.C. is shipping pulp to the US to be turned into surgical equipment.https://t.co/EqqXHFtt2i
— Rick Westhead (@rwesthead) April 4, 2020
This is going to get uglier:
I get the knee jerk reaction against 3M exporting. But it's wrong. If the U.S. locks down PPE exports, then others lockdown raw materials. Then 3M can't produce masks at all. We rely on our trading partners and they rely on us. That's how this works. https://t.co/5DIuIDfrZ4
— Dustin P. Walsh (@dustinpwalsh) April 4, 2020
3M is also fighting back on rumors, for example, this one claiming masks for the Berlin police were directed elsewhere:
About the current situation: We are not aware of any orders for breathing masks from China for the Berlin police. All FFP2 respirators that we sell in Germany are made in Europe. Our manufacturing principle is “local for local”.
Zur aktuellen Situation: Uns ist nichts von einer Bestellung von Atemschutzmasken aus China für die Berliner Polizei bekannt. Alle FFP2 Atemschutzmasken, die wir in Deutschland verkaufen, werden in Europa produziert. Unser Fertigungsprinzip dabei ist „lokal für lokal“.
— 3M Deutschland (@3MDeutschland) April 4, 2020
To be continued.
***
Join the conversation as a VIP Member