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NEW: Trump Allowed Medical Equipment Exports For Months As US Hospitals Faced Shortages

By April 2, 2020No Comments

NEW: Trump Allowed Medical Equipment Exports For Months As US Hospitals Faced Shortages

24 Other Governments Limited Their Exports of Medical Supplies By March 11 While US Was Still Shipping Supplies Overseas

Forbes: Approx 280 Million U.S. Masks Were Purchased by Foreign Buyers on March 30 Alone

Trump Maintained Import Tariffs On Chinese Medical Supplies Through Mid-March

Five US Embassies Announced They Gave American Medical Supplies To Their Host Countries

America is facing a deadly shortage of ventilators, tests, personal protective equipment and other supplies. The situation is so dire that medical workers across the country are having to wear the same mask all day to conserve supplies and the United States government is now pleading with foreign governments to donate supplies to be used by American hospitals.

But at the same time that coronavirus cases were surging at home, the Trump administration was allowing exports of key medical equipment to other countries, exacerbating the shortages we’re seeing today.

As Governments Across The World Began To Restrict Medical Equipment Exports, Trump Allowed U.S. Goods To Be Exported And Continued To Impose Financial Penalties On Medical Equipment Imported from China

  • By March 11, Governments Of 24 Nations Had Taken Steps To Ban Or Limit The Export Of Medical Equipment. “Since the beginning of 2020 the governments of 24 nations have taken steps to ban or limit the export of medical equipment (such as masks) and medicines and their ingredients. Export bans are proliferating—16 have been imposed since the beginning of this month. Now, beggar-thy-neighbour means sicken-thy-neighbour.” [Global Trade Alert, 3/11/20]

  • The United States Kept Import Tariffs In Place Through Mid-March, Continuing To Impose Financial Penalties On Personal Protective Gear, Protective Goggles, Pulse Oximeters, Hand Sanitizer, And Other Medical Products Imported From China. “The U.S. government has placed no restrictions on exports of medical supplies while continuing to impose financial penalties on the import of personal protective gear, protective goggles, pulse oximeters, hand sanitizer, and other medical products from China. On March 10 and 12, President Donald Trump temporarily lifted tariffs, in place since 2017, on some of these medical products.” [The Intercept, 4/1/20]

  • As Of April 1, The United States Government Had Not Discouraged Private Companies From Exporting Supplies Overseas. “The government has yet to curtail exports by U.S. companies, however—roughly 280 million masks in warehouses around the U.S. were purchased by foreign buyers on Monday alone, according to Forbes. A FEMA spokesperson said the agency ‘has not actively encouraged or discouraged U.S. companies from exporting overseas,’ noting that various U.S. agencies are coordinating their activities with their overseas counterparts.” [Politico, 3/31/20]

Trump Spent January, February, And March Shipping Critical Medical Equipment Overseas

  • At Least Five US Embassies Announced In Press Releases That The United States Had Provided PPE To Their Host Countries.  “In the last two months, at least five U.S. embassies, including in Myanmar, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Laos, all announced in press releases that the U.S. government had given protective gear to their host countries, sometimes including pictures of boxes of the donations. U.S. embassies in Kazakhstan, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mongolia, Nepal and Pakistan also announced support for fighting coronavirus.” [Politico, 3/31/2020]

  • Last Week, US Officials Asked Thailand For Help Securing Much-Needed Protective Gear For Doctors — Only To Be Informed That A U.S. Shipment Of The Same Supplies Was Already On Its Way To Bangkok. “Last week, a Trump administration official working to secure much-needed protective gear for doctors and nurses in the United States had a startling encounter with counterparts in Thailand. The official asked the Thais for help—only to be informed by the puzzled voices on the other side of the line that a U.S. shipment of the same supplies, the second of two so far, was already on its way to Bangkok.” [Politico, 3/31/2020]

  • Vessel Manifests Obtained By The Intercept Showed A Steady Flow Of Medical Equipment Needed To Treat COVID-19 Being Shipped Abroad As Recently As March 17, 2020.  “While much of the world moved swiftly to lock down crucial medical supplies used to treat the coronavirus, the U.S. dithered, maintaining business as normal and allowing large shipments of American-made respirators and ventilators to be sold to foreign buyers… Vessel manifests maintained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and reviewed by The Intercept show a steady flow of the medical equipment needed to treat the coronavirus being shipped abroad as recently as March 17.” [The Intercept, 4/1/20]

    • Pennsylvania-Based Health Product Firm Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare Sent At Least Three Shipments Of Respiratory Equipment To Belgium In February And March. “Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare, a Pennsylvania-based health product firm that produces supplemental oxygen machines, sent at least three different shipments of respiratory equipment to Belgium in mid-February and early March. The total cargo included 14 containers weighing more than 55 tons. DeVilbiss and its owner, Clayton Dubilier & Rice, a New York-based private equity firm, did not respond to a request for comment.” [The Intercept, 4/1/20]

    • On March 8, Two Tons Of New Hampshire-Based Vapotherm’s High-Flow Disposable Patient Circuit Units Were Sent To Koobe, Japan. “Invoice records confirm the international shipments. On March 8, two tons of Vapotherm’s high-flow disposable patient circuit units, used for operating its respiratory aids, were loaded onto a container ship in the Port of Los Angeles. The shipment was sent to Kobe, Japan, for Japan Medicalnext Co., a health care distributor.” [The Intercept, 4/1/20]

    • ​​​​​​​On February 28, 1.5 Tons Of Ventilator Masks Manufactured By St. Louis-Based Allied Health Products Were Shipped To Hamburg, Germany. “On February 28, a ship left New York for Hamburg, Germany, with about 1.5 tons of ventilator masks manufactured by Allied Healthcare Products, a health product business based in St. Louis. The masks are used for the company’s portable ventilator unit.” [The Intercept, 4/1/20]

  • While HHS Provided A Contract To Develop 10,000 Ventilators From Philips Respironics By November 2022, The Company Exported At Least Six Shipments Of Respiratory Equipment Abroad Over The Last Two Months. “The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provided a contract to develop 10,000 low-cost ventilators from Philips Respironics, an American subsidiary of Royal Philips N.V that produces medical respiratory equipment. But the device, the Trilogy Evo Universal, was never delivered to the national stockpile. The terms of the contract do not require delivery until November 2022, and sources for ProPublica suggest that the administration granted a preferential window to Philips that has allowed the company to first sell the product to a variety of buyers at higher prices. The subsidiary, CBP records show, has instead exported at least six shipments of respiratory equipment abroad, largely to Europe, over the last two months. Last November, the company also shipped products associated with the Trilogy Evo Universal to the Netherlands.” [The Intercept, 4/1/20]

    • ​​​​​​​Asked If It Would Focus On Meeting Demand In The Us, A Philips Spokesperson Said: “Philips Believes That Critical Medical Equipment, Such As Hospital Ventilators And Patient Monitors, Should Be Made Available Across The World.” “Asked whether the company would focus on meeting the acute demand in the U.S., the Philips parent company demurred in a statement. ‘Philips believes that critical medical equipment, such as hospital ventilators and patient monitors, should be made available across the world, prioritizing those communities and countries that need it the most, using a fair and ethical approach to allocate supply to acute patient demands based on data such as the COVID-19 risk-classification of a country/region,’ said Steve Klink, a spokesperson for Philips.” [The Intercept, 4/1/20]​​​​​​​

    • ​​​​​​​ProPublica: “Had Government Officials Insisted That Philips First Produce The Ventilators That Taxpayers Paid To Design, The Government Could Conceivably Be Distributing All 10,000 To Hospitals Now.” “Had government officials insisted that Philips first produce the ventilators that taxpayers paid to design, the government could conceivably be distributing all 10,000 to hospitals now. Last year, Philips plants in Pennsylvania and California produced 500 ventilators of various models per week; they sped up to 1,000 per week earlier this year, Klink said. At that pace, the stockpile ventilators could have been completed even if Philips devoted only part of its lines to their production.” [ProPublica, 3/30/20]

As Recently As Monday, Trump Re-Committed To Export Medical Equipment Abroad But Backtracked 24 Hour Later In Response To Backlash

  • Trump: “As We Outpace What We Need, We’re Going To Be Sending Them To Italy.  We’re Going To Be Sending Them To France. We’re Going To Be Sending Them To Spain.” “On top of that, we have other companies that are doing ventilators, including General Motors.  But we have nine other companies doing ventilators. As we outpace what we need, we’re going to be sending them to Italy.  We’re going to be sending them to France. We’re going to be sending them to Spain, where they have tremendous problems, and other countries as we — as we can.  But the fact that we’re doing so many so quickly is a tribute to our great companies.” [White House Press Conference, Washington, DC, 3/30/20]

  • Now, Only After Patients, Doctors, And Nurses Are Dying Because Of PPE And Medical Supply Shortages Has The Trump Administration Frozen USAID Shipments Of Protective Gear Overseas. “The incidents have spurred the Pence-led coronavirus task force to scrutinize all of USAID’s deliveries to countries requesting personal protective equipment (PPE) needed to fight the outbreak, according to people directly involved in the discussions, causing tensions between aid officials and task-force members. The administration has also placed a moratorium on overseas shipments of USAID’s stockpiles of protective gear and is asking that the equipment be sent to the U.S. instead, other officials said.” [Politico, 3/31/20]

    • ​​​​​​​“Asked about reports of the freeze on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said there was ‘no truth whatsoever’ to them. However, minutes later, he noted that ‘whatever we have, whatever we’ve committed to, we commit,’ but added that “we also need a lot for ourselves.’ ‘Obviously, we’re not going to be shipping too much,’ he said during a White House briefing.” [Politico, 3/31/20]