Defense Production Act

[Grey Havoc]

Exclusive: U.S. mulls using sweeping powers to ramp up production of coronavirus protective gear

President Donald Trump's administration is considering invoking special powers through a law called the Defense Production Act to rapidly expand domestic manufacturing of protective masks and clothing to combat the coronavirus in the United States, two U.S. officials told...

www.reuters.com

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s administration is considering invoking special powers through a law called the Defense Production Act to rapidly expand domestic manufacturing of protective masks and clothing to combat the coronavirus in the United States, two U.S. officials told Reuters.

The use of the law, passed by Congress in 1950 at the outset of the Korean War, would mark an escalation of the administration’s response to the outbreak. The virus first surfaced in China and has since spread to other countries including the United States.

U.S. health officials have told Americans to begin preparing for the spread of the virus in the United States.

The law grants the president the power to expand industrial production of key materials or products for national security and other reasons. The biggest producers of face masks in the United States include 3M Corp and Honeywell International Inc.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar told lawmakers this week that the United States needs a stockpile of about 300 million N95 face masks - respiratory protective devices - for medical workers to combat the spread of the virus. The United States currently has only a fraction of that number available for immediate use, Azar testified.

During an interagency call on Wednesday, officials from HHS and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) discussed the possibility of invoking the Defense Production Act for the manufacture of “personal protective equipment” that can be worn to prevent infection, according to a DHS official.

Such equipment can include masks, gloves and body suits.

Azar said at a congressional hearing on Wednesday that China controls “a lot of the raw materials as well as the manufacturing capacity” related to face masks.

“Very little of this stuff is apparently made in the (United) States, so if we’re down to domestic capability to produce, it could get tough,” the DHS official told Reuters.

The law grants the president broad authority to “expedite and expand the supply of resources from the U.S. industrial base to support military, energy, space, and homeland security programs,” according to a summary on the Federal Emergency Management Agency website.

Azar testified on Wednesday that the United States has a stockpile of around 12 million of the N95 masks that are in line with certifications from the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). HHS also has another 5 million N95 masks that are no longer NIOSH certified, Azar said, perhaps because they are past the expiration date.

In addition to those masks, the U.S. government has a stockpile of 30 million “gauze type” surgical masks, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said are less effective because they are loose-fitting.

Azar said the government needs a stockpile of approximately 300 million N95 masks.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Relief package billions can't buy hospitals out of shortages

The billions of tax dollars headed for hospitals and states as part of the $2.2 trillion coronavirus response bill won't fix the problem facing doctors and nurses: a critical shortage of protective gowns, gloves and masks. Hospitals, state governments and the Federal Emergency Management Agency...

sg.news.yahoo.com

The AP reported last week that imports of critical medical supplies were plummeting due to factory closures in China, where manufacturers had been required to sell all or part of their goods internally rather than export to other countries.

Now that bottleneck has tightened as the pandemic sweeps through the world, shuttering potential backup factories from one country to the next. Many manufacturers have been ordered to shut down or limit production throughout Southeast Asia and Latin America, including in India and Mexico. In Malaysia, where 75 percent of the world’s medical gloves are made, AP found factories were shut down and only allowed to reopen with half staff, who are now locked in hostels at their workplaces.

Shipments of medical gloves are down 23% so far this month compared with 2019, and medical gown imports are down 64% for the same period, according to trade data compiled by Panjiva and ImportGenius, services that track imports and exports.

No medical-grade N95 masks, made almost entirely in China, have arrived at U.S. ports so far this month.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Trump Ordered These Companies To Make Medical Supplies Under The Defense Production Act

Trump—amid criticism from both sides—has thus far only used the act sparingly.

www.forbes.com

Trump invokes Defense Production Act to prevent export of surgical masks, gloves

President Trump announced Friday evening that he is invoking the Defense Production Act (DPA) to prevent the export of surgical masks and gloves outside of the country.

thehill.com

 

[GTX]

Trump, Biden and the Defense Production Act - FactCheck.org

Leading Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden repeatedly has criticized President Donald Trump for failing to make timely use of the Defense Production Act to compel companies to manufacture medical supplies that are expected to be needed to treat those infected with the novel coronavirus...

www.factcheck.org

 

[Arjen]

Coronavirus: US accused of ‘piracy’ over mask ‘confiscation’

Berlin officials say 200,000 masks have been diverted to the US under a law invoked by Donald Trump.

www.bbc.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

I didn't hear cries of piracy when Germany and France diverted hundreds of thousands of masks that were meant for the HSE here in Ireland and for the NHS over in Britain, and we were just two of the affected countries.

 

[Arjen]

Arguably a bad thing with anyone doing it. I am reminded of school days - he started it. What next?

 

[Grey Havoc]

Indeed.

 

[Foo Fighter]

Not taking 'stuff' too seriously would seem to be the thing to do.

 

[Grey Havoc]

On a tangent:

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

 

[Grey Havoc]

China’s ‘Donation Diplomacy’ Raises Tensions With U.S. (Published 2020)

New regulations in China are delaying its shipments of medical supplies around the world. And some American officials worry accepting donated gear helps China’s propaganda efforts.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

What Doctors on the Front Lines Wish They’d Known a Month Ago (Published 2020)

Ironclad emergency medical practices — about when to use ventilators, for example — have dissolved almost overnight.

www.nytimes.com

 

[sferrin]

China’s ‘Donation Diplomacy’ Raises Tensions With U.S. (Published 2020)

New regulations in China are delaying its shipments of medical supplies around the world. And some American officials worry accepting donated gear helps China’s propaganda efforts.

www.nytimes.com

I'd be more concerned of the stuff even working, or worse, being contaminated with coronavirus. (Yes, that's happened.)

 

[GTX]

I'd be more concerned of the stuff even working, or worse, being contaminated with coronavirus. (Yes, that's happened.)

Is that sort of comment really helpful in these times?

 

[sferrin]

I'd be more concerned of the stuff even working, or worse, being contaminated with coronavirus. (Yes, that's happened.)

Is that sort of comment really helpful in these times?

You're joking, right? There have been faulty masks sent from China, coronavirus test kits sent from China that were ACTUALLY CONTAMINATED with coronavirus. I think what's less helpful is carrying water for China and trying to sweep these things under the rug. YMMV.

 

[GTX]

I stand by my comment: how does making comments such as this help in the current situation. Spreading fear is not needed.

As to your claim that there were/are "coronavirus test kits sent from China that were ACTUALLY CONTAMINATED with coronavirus" please provide proof. The only reports of this that I have seen are reports that contaminated test kits were found in the UK (with the story reposted by multiple outlets in various forms). However fact checking has shown that the kits in question actually came from a Luxembourg-based company and not China.

 

[riggerrob]

The worst thing about COVID 19 is scared people snapping at each other.
Please stop.

 

[sferrin]

I stand by my comment: how does making comments such as this help in the current situation. Spreading fear is not needed.

As to your claim that there were/are "coronavirus test kits sent from China that were ACTUALLY CONTAMINATED with coronavirus" please provide proof. The only reports of this that I have seen are reports that contaminated test kits were found in the UK (with the story reposted by multiple outlets in various forms). However fact checking has shown that the kits in question actually came from a Luxembourg-based company and not China.

"The particular test kits had been ordered from Luxembourg-based company Eurofin. Eurofin had found that some “core” components of their testing kits were contaminated, and delivery of viable test kits would therefore be delayed.

Except this relatively minor incident has been badly miscommunicated. Organiser.org has published another article, by Creative Destruction Media, to back up its claim that Eurofin’s contaminated parts were produced in China. This article only quotes Eurofin as saying parts came from “other countries”, and the source it cites does not actually include this claim."

But I'll give you that. Meanwhile:

U.K. Says Millions of Coronavirus Test Kits Bought From China Do Not Work

It was hoped that the finger-prick blood tests could identify who had developed an immunity to the virus, allowing them out of lockdown.

www.newsweek.com

When did objective truth become, "spreading fear"?

China Pushes to Churn Out Coronavirus Gear, Yet Struggles to Police It (Published 2020)

Factories sprang up or retooled to make equipment. But complaints in Spain over Chinese-made tests highlight the difficulties of regulating quality.

www.nytimes.com

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

In my opinion this *is* racist, and unacceptable.

The UK incident didn't involve China at all, it was a European supplier.

I'm sure there have been quality control issues in many countries, and China certainly isn't immune from this. Absolutely factual. Moving from this to implying that the Chinese Government would intentionally supply contaminated kits to the US, that's racist.

What evidence is there to support this? Is China worse than other suppliers? China's a huge place, it's not surprising that some unscrupulous suppliers are cutting corners or supplying shoddy products. Simply ramping up production massively is often going to cause problems. If China makes 80% of the product, they might have 80% of the problems.

 

[Grey Havoc]

General Motors' First Ventilators Are Ready For Delivery - Slashdot

On Tuesday, General Motors revealed that its first ventilators are ready for delivery. "The automaker has a contract with the US Department of Health and Human Services to license-build 30,000 Ventec Life Systems V+ Pro critical care ventilators," reports Ars Technica. "These ventilators are...

science.slashdot.org

 

[sferrin]

In my opinion this *is* racist, and unacceptable.

How is it racist? The vast majority of defective PPE is coming from China. That's a fact. Pointing it out isn't racist. Would it be better to say nothing and let people use defective PPE, thinking it's going to help save their lives, to save a few feels? Seriously?

VIDEO: Chinese Factory Worker Caught Contaminating Hundreds of Medical Face Masks - Blunt Force Truth

A video of a Chinese factory worker deliberately contaminating medical face masks is going viral, as the coronavirus scare continues to heighten. The factory worker can be seen taking the face masks out of their packaging and rubbing them all over his feet while laughing in the video. This is...

bluntforcetruth.com

 

[Arjen]

About as credible a source as Larry, Moe and Curly.

 

[sferrin]

About as credible a source as Larry, Mo and Curly.

Are you claiming that's a fake video then? Or are you referring to the NYT article above? I'd agree the NYT is about as "fake news" as it gets but I'd have thought you'd be a fan of them.

 

[Arjen]

It could have been made anywhere.

 

[sferrin]

'Dodgy' coronavirus protective equipment from China seized at Australian border

Authorities are seizing faulty Chinese-made face masks and other protective clothing that's being exported to Australia to help halt the spread of coronavirus.

www.abc.net.au

Faulty masks. Flawed tests. China's quality control problem in leading global COVID-19 fight

Chinese companies producing faulty testing kits and masks are marring Beijing's attempts to assert leadership in the fight against the coronavirus.

www.latimes.com

HSE in negotiations about defective PPE delivered from China to 'ensure it doesn't happen again'

Some of the personal protective equipment (PPE) imported into Ireland from China to help fight the coronavirus pandemic has emerged to be defective, according to health officials.

www.independent.ie

Italy gave China PPE to help with coronavirus — then China made them buy it back

A senior Trump administration official says China forced Italy to buy back the same PPE supply it had donated to China earlier in the outbreak

spectator.us

Coronavirus: Countries reject Chinese-made equipment

The Netherlands, Spain and Turkey have all said some Chinese-made equipment is substandard.

www.bbc.com

Finland joins growing list of countries receiving faulty Chinese PPE equipment | Taiwan News | 2020-04-09 16:27:00

Two million surgical masks purchased from China are substandard and unsafe for hospital use | 2020-04-09 16:27:00

www.taiwannews.com.tw

Countries reject China pandemic product batches

The Netherlands, Spain and Turkey question quality of face masks and tests

www.ft.com

Yep. Nothin' to see here.

 

[Arjen]

You keep harping on intentional contamination in China, without credible proof. Shoddy goods from private companies in China and other countries, possible. Probable. Intentional contamination? BS.

 

[sferrin]

You keep harping on intentional contamination in China, without credible proof. Shoddy goods from private companies in China and other countries, possible. Probable. Intentional contamination? BS.

Show me where I ever said it was intentional. (In the one case I SHOWED somebody intentionally doing it. Aside from that, show me where I SAID it was all intentional.)

 

[Arjen]

So laughing boy illustrated - what?

 

[Desertfox]

How is it racist? The vast majority of defective PPE is coming from China. That's a fact. Pointing it out isn't racist. Would it be better to say nothing and let people use defective PPE, thinking it's going to help save their lives, to save a few feels? Seriously?

The vast majority of PPE comes from China so logic and statistics would dictate that the vast majority of defective PPE would also come from China. Its called math. If say Zimbabwe made most of the PPEs, I would expect Zimbabwe to also have the most defective PPEs...

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

And what has this all got to do with the forum?

Locked.