Canadian officials working behind the scenes to secure a full exemption from the Trump administration for imports of critical medical equipment say they’ve made some progress as 3M announces that it has struck a deal with the U.S. government to allow the export of N95 respirator masks to Canada.
Canadian officials working behind the scenes to secure a full exemption from the Trump administration for imports of critical medical equipment say they’ve made some progress as 3M announces that it has struck a deal with the U.S. government to allow the export of N95 respirator masks to Canada.
Canadian ministers and officials have been trying to reverse the United States’ decision to invoke the Defense Production Act to force Minnesota-based 3M to prioritize orders from the U.S. government for N95 respirators at the expense of foreign orders, including some from Canada.
Earlier today, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had reached an agreement with the company and was now “very proud to be dealing with 3M.”
A statement from the company said it has struck a deal to import 166.5 million respirators into the U.S. over the next three months, primarily from its manufacturing facility in China.
“The plan will also enable 3M to continue sending U.S. produced respirators to Canada and Latin America, where 3M is the primary source of supply,” the statement said.
The company said it is ramping up production and within about a year will be able to start producing two billion respirator masks a year. The first wave of that production is expected to come online in the next three months.
It remains unclear how this deal will affect exports of o