2 min ago
Trump says he's invoked the Defense Production Act "against 3M for face masks"
From CNN's Maegan Vazquez
President Donald Trump said Thursday in additional to the issuance of a memorandum invoking the Defense Production Act to supply ventilator supplies to manufacturers, he has also invoked the act against 3M for face masks.
“I just signed against 3M for face masks,” Trump said during the White House press briefing. “We signed an element of the act against 3M. Hopefully they’ll be able to do what they are supposed to do.”
3M, which is the largest maker of medical face masks and more specifically the N95 respirator mask, said in a statement earlier this week that it already doubled its global output in January, and also plans "to double our capacity once again, to 2 billion globally within the next 12 months – and some of that additional capacity will begin to come online in the next 60-90 days."
In the US, 3M said it expects to produce 50 million 95 respirators per month in June, a 40 percent jump from current levels.
Even with accelerated production, the company's CEO Mike Roman acknowledged in a statement that "the reality is that demand for N95 respirators is much higher than the industries’ ability to deliver. That is why we continue to explore innovative partnerships and solutions to help protect our healthcare workers in this extraordinary time."
