By
Bena Ilyas
March 11th, 2024
President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to ban “unscrupulous actors and profiteers” from exporting critical medical gear used to protect wearers from the coronavirus. 3M stock price went down.
American conglomerate 3M (NYSE: MMM) stock is experiencing not the best period. Though taking into account the products that the 3M company manufactures, the situation for it amid coronavirus could be just the opposite. On Friday, its stock lost 2.99% to trade at $133.79. After hours its price also fell slightly (-0.037%).
United States President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act on Friday in order to forbid “unscrupulous actors and profiteers” from exporting critical medical gear used to protect wearers from the coronavirus.
He then said the American conglomerate 3M was “hit hard” by the administration after failing to provide the country with their protective masks while coronavirus is spreading. The president also said on the issue, he was surprised as to what many in the U.S. government were doing, noting they will suffer consequences for their actions.
Invoking Defense Production Act
“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 wrote.
Earlier, the U.S. President invoked the Defense Production Act to direct the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to obtain N95 masks from the 3M Company.
Speaking at the regular White House Briefing Friday evening, Trump reiterated that they are not happy with 3M. He stated:
“We’re not at all happy with 3M. And the people who dealt with it directly are not happy with 3M.”
Under the above mentioned new order, acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf will work with FEMA to “prevent the export of N-95 respirators, surgical masks, gloves and other personal protective equipment,” Trump said.
“We need these items immediately for domestic use, we have to have them,” the President added.
The White House released details of the order stating:
“To ensure that these scarce or threatened PPE materials remain in the United States for use in responding to the spread of COVID-19, it is the policy of the United States to prevent domestic brokers, distributors, and other intermediaries from diverting such material overseas.”
3M Problems amid Coronavirus Pandemic
Trump had first attacked 3M on Thursday, after approving an order for Wolf to “use any and all authority” to acquire as many respirators from the company or its affiliates as was deemed “appropriate.”
He tweeted:
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
In a CNBC interview Friday morning, 3M CEO Mike Roman slammed back on Trump’s furious tweet, saying it was “absurd” to suggest his company wasn’t doing all it could to help the U.S. fight the pandemic.
The company added that “ceasing all export of respirators produced in the United States would likely cause other countries to retaliate and do the same, as some have already done.”
Earlier it was said that the White House tried to make 3M ship N95 masks from its Singapore facilities to the U.S. rather than sending them to its markets in Asia.
