U.S. coronavirus supply spree sparks outrage among allies

From Europe to South America, U.S. allies are complaining about the superpower’s “Wild West” tactics in outbidding or blocking shipments to buyers who have already signed deals for vital medical supplies.

In France and Germany, senior officials said the United States was paying far above the market price for medical-grade masks from No. 1 producer China, on occasion winning contracts through higher bids even after European buyers believed a deal was done, and Brazil’s health minister reported a similar incident.

“Money is irrelevant. They pay any price because they are desperate,” one high-level official in German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling CDU/CSU group told Reuters.

A German government source said: “Americans are on the move, carrying a lot of money.”

Since the virus was first recorded in China late last year, the pandemic has spread around the world. Governments in Europe, the Americas and elsewhere are desperately trying to build up supplies for medics, nursing home staff and the public.

Now, with global cases surpassing one million and the outbreak exploding in the United States, the competition for precious stocks is intensifying further.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that the U.S. government is now recommending Americans wear cloth face coverings on a voluntary basis to stem the spread of the virus, but the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not recommend wearing medical-grade masks.

He also said he was signing a directive to stop the export of N95 respirator masks, which provide essential protection for healthcare workers, and other U.S. medical equipment.

U.S.-listed multinational 3M Co said Friday that the White House had ordered it to stop all shipments to Canada and Latin America of respirators that it manufactures in the United States, despite what 3M called “significant humanitarian implications.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the blocking the flow of equipment across the border would be a “mistake” that could backfire, noting that the country’s healthcare professionals go to work in Detroit every day.

In another case, an order of 200,000 masks bound for Germany from a 3M factory in China were “confiscated” in Bangkok, Berlin Secretary of Interior Andreas Geisel, said in a statement, calling it an “act of modern piracy.”

“Even in times of global crisis you shouldn’t use Wild West methods,” he said.