An N-95 mask is seen in Toronto on Friday, March 27, 2020. One of the world's largest U.S.-based makers of consumer products says it has been told by the White House to stop exporting medical-grade face masks to the Canadian market.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is not looking at retaliatory measures after U.S. President Donald Trump told a manufacturer of medical masks not to export them to Canada.

Trudeau said he would be speaking with Trump in the coming days and looking for a positive solution on the issue.

He made the remarks in his daily address to Canadians from outside Rideau Cottage in Ottawa.

READ MORE: Coronavirus: Trump asks medical supply firm 3M to stop selling N95 respirators to Canada

On Friday, 3M said it was asked by the Trump administration not to supply N95 respirators to Canada and Latin America amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Trump has ordered the Minnesota-based company to produce and sell as many medical-grade masks as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says it needs. He invoked the Defence Production Act in order to speed up the distribution of masks.

Trump later released a statement saying that nothing in his order "will interfere with the ability of PPE manufacturers to export when doing so is consistent with United States policy and in the national interest of the United States."

3M did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

—With files from Maham Abedi, Global News



