On 2 April, the US President slammed the 3M Company after invoking the Defence Production Act to require the company to produce face masks.
"We hit 3M hard today after seeing what they were doing with their Masks. 'P Act' all the way.' Big surprise to many in government as to what they were doing - will have a big price to pay!" Trump said on Tweeter.
We hit 3M hard today after seeing what they were doing with their Masks. “P Act” all the way. Big surprise to many in government as to what they were doing - will have a big price to pay!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 3, 2020
On Thursday, Donald Trump said at a daily briefing on the COVID-19 situation in the country that he hopes that the company will do their job.
"Hopefully they'll be able to do what they are supposed to do", Trump said. The President added that the US government "anticipates issuing more orders under the Defence Production Act in the very near future".
In a White House memorandum regarding the order, the president requires the company to deliver the appropriate number of N-95 respirators.
"The Secretary, through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Administrator), shall use any and all authority available under the Act to acquire, from any appropriate subsidiary or affiliate of 3M Company, the number of N-95 respirators that the Administrator determines to be appropriate", the memo reads.
Earlier in the day, Donald Trump invoked the Defence Production Act to order six US companies, namely General Electric, Hill-Rom, Medtronic, ResMed, Royal Philips, and Vyaire Medical, to repurpose their factories for building ventilators, another White House memo stated.
As of 2 April, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States has surpassed 213,144, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 4,500 people have died from the pandemic. The John Hopkins University data shows that over 244,000 people in the country have been infected with the disease, with the death toll exceeding 5,800.
