KEY POINTS Trump administration is facing shortage of vital medical supplies for fighting the pandemic

Germany has accused the U.S. of diverting its shipment of 3M masks from China

PM Trudeau vowed to do everything necessary to protect Canadian lives

The new coronavirus pandemic is mounting pressure on the Trump administration to restructure the medical supply chain including bringing back to the country manufacturing of some vital supplies. There is a growing bipartisan feeling that Washington’s overdependence on a China-dominated fragile global supply chain may be affecting its ability to fight the pandemic, media reports say. The coronavirus has infected more than 337,300 people in the U.S. and killed at least 9,643.

Amid the Trump’s administration's push to keep the Chinese supply lines open, Peter Navarro, the economic adviser, said Washington would move away from its reliance on other nations toward building its own capabilities to produce medical drugs and equipment, a report on the The Hill said.

“One of the things that this crisis has taught us, sir, is that we are dangerously over-dependent on a global supply chain,” the report quoted Navarro as telling a White House press briefing in President Trump’s presence. ‘Never again should we rely on the rest of the world for our essential medicines and countermeasures.’

The report said lawmakers and administration officials thought the virus exposed how vulnerable the country was as it depended on other nations, particularly China, for the supplies.

At a meeting with pharmaceutical companies, President Trump emphasized that the pandemic showed the importance of “bringing manufacturing back to America so that we are producing, at home, the medicines and equipment and everything else that we need to protect the public’s health.”

Three Senate Democrats backed legislation put forward by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, last month that advocated for the U.S. to reprioritize achieving lower supply chain dependence on China, particularly for the federal health care system, the report said. The move echoed concerns that Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and others raised in a letter in early December asking Defense Secretary Mark Esper to “address the dangers posed by this reliance on foreign drug makers.”

National security risks

A 2019 report of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission warned Congress that U.S. consumers, including the military, were “heavily dependent” on China for drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), arguing that this “presents economic and national security risks.” The U.S. also relies on China for major supplies like masks and gowns that are vital to protecting healthcare professionals. A Congressional Research Service report last month said that China supplied 30% of U.S. imports of medical personal protective equipment last year.

The demand for redrawing the supply chain has come at a time when tensions are rising even among America’s western allies over medical supplies necessary to fight the COVID-19 pandemic that has so far infected more than 1.27 million people in about 180 countries and taken over 69,500 lives. A German police officer Saturday accused Washington of diverting a consignment of N95 grade masks intended for Berlin to the U.S. from China.

Photo: AFP / CHARLY TRIBALLEAU

The shipment of facemasks was from a Chinese manufacturing facility of Minnesota-based medical supplies company 3M, which was to be routed through Bangkok. Germany has accused the Americans of hijacking the shipment. Berlin’s police chief Barbara Slowik apparently told Der Tagesspiegel, a German newspaper, that a shipment of 200,000 3M facemasks was rerouted to the United States. Andreas Geisel, a Berlin interior senator, also confirmed that the masks were "confiscated," and called it an “act of modern piracy.” “This is not how you deal with transatlantic partners,” Geisel said.

Retaliatory action

Neighboring Canada is also displeased with Washington’s move to block all export of medical supplies needed for the fight against COVID-19. On Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is under extended isolation after his wife tested positive for the new coronavirus and was later cured, said he would do everything to protect Canadian interests. “I will say that we’ll do what is necessary to keep Canadians safe and we will do it in as constructive a way as possible,” Trudeau said when asked if he would consider retaliatory action against the U.S, according to a CBC report.

President has Trump invoked the Defence Production Act to stop the export of supplies needed in the country’s fight against the coronavirus.