PARIS/BERLIN (Reuters) – From Europe to South America, U.S. allies are complaining about the superpower’s “Wild West” tactics in outbidding or blocking shipments to purchasers who have currently signed deals for essential medical materials.
A medical protective mask is seen as the spread of the coronavirus illness (COVID-19) continues in Hanau, Germany, April 3,2020 REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
In France and Germany, senior officials stated the United States was paying far above the market price for medical-grade masks from No. 1 producer China, on event winning contracts through higher quotes even after European buyers believed a deal was done, and Brazil’s health minister reported a comparable occurrence.
” Cash is irrelevant. They pay any cost since they are desperate,” one high-level authorities in German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling CDU/CSU group informed Reuters.
A German government source stated: “Americans are on the relocation, bring a great deal of money.”
Because the virus was first recorded in China late last year, the pandemic has actually spread out around the world. Federal governments in Europe, the Americas and elsewhere are frantically attempting to build up supplies for medics, nursing house personnel and the general public.
Now, with global cases surpassing one million and the outbreak blowing up in the United States, the competition for valuable stocks is intensifying even more.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that the U.S. federal government is now recommending Americans wear fabric face coverings on a voluntary basis to stem the spread of the virus, however the guidance from the Centers for Illness Control and Avoidance (CDC) does not suggest wearing medical-gr