Trump Won't Order Vital Coronavirus Supplies Because Corporate CEOs Asked Him
Not To
By Bess Levin, Vanity Fair
24 March 20
They’re worried it could be bad for business.
ne of the most mind-boggling aspects of the coronavirus crisis in America is
the fact that one of the wealthiest countries in the world doesn’t have the
basic medical supplies necessary to deal with the situation. In addition to a
lack of beds, hospitals across the nation have nowhere near the number of
ventilators and masks doctors require to both do their jobs and protect
themselves. While governors have pleaded with Donald Trump to help them obtain
such equipment, he’s literally told them they’re on their own, seemingly
forgetting the fact that he’s the one with the power here. For instance, Andrew
Cuomo can’t invoke the Defense Production Act, which allows the federal
government to take some control of the private sector to ensure production of
materials relevant to national defense, but Trump can. And yet he’s chosen not
to. Why? Because corporate CEOs don’t like the idea, and the president is more
concerned with keeping big business happy than keeping Americans alive.
Yes, according to the New York Times, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and heads of
major corporations have “lobbied the administration against using the act,”
arguing that it could impose “red tape” on companies at a time when they need
the government out of their hair. Unsurprisingly, free market die-hard Larry
Kudlow, i.e., Trump’s never-right National Economic Council director, was
“persuaded” by such arguments, as was Trump’s not-very-bright son-in-law, Jared
Kushner. Instead the Trump Brain Trust has insisted that it can just convince
businesses to help bridge the shortfall of vital medical supplies without
making a formal demand, an initiative that thus far has had predictable results:
The government has essentially thrown out its existing playbook for dealing
with pandemics, seizing the issue from the Department of Health and Human
Services and moving it to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But it is
far from clear that the effort to enlist companies like General Motors, Apple,
and Hanes, just a few of the firms that have promised to free up existing
supplies of masks or repurpose 3D printers to produce ventilator parts,
constitutes an effective strategy.
In interviews with participants in the process, from business executives to
government officials, there is still widespread confusion about how much and
what exactly each firm is supposed to produce. Corporate executives say they
face a bewildering number of requests from dozens of nations around the world,
along with governors and mayors around the country, for scarce supplies. The
White House has not said who will set the priority list for deliveries. And it
is not clear that any of it will arrive in time for the cities and the states
that are hit the hardest, including New York.
Administration officials, asked why they have been reluctant to use the full
force of the Defense Production Act to press industry into action, say the
country is not in such dire straits. There is plenty of volunteer cooperation,
they say, and there is always the implicit threat of ordering mandatory
measures if they do not. Mr. Trump, at the news briefing, suggested an
ideological concern as well. “We’re a country not based on nationalizing our
business,” he said.
During that briefing on Sunday, White House economic adviser Peter Navarro told
reporters, “We’re getting what we need without putting the heavy hand of
government down.” Navarro, you may recall, is the West Wing’s resident China
crackpot whom Kushner hired after finding him on Amazon, and who attempts to
sway government policy by issuing memos under a pen name. That’s the kind of
expertise that’s led to, among other things, the production of basically
worthless underwear masks:
Anderson Warlick, the chief executive of the textile company Parkdale Mills,
said Mr. Navarro had called him early last week to ask what the company could
make. By Saturday, Parkdale Mills joined Hanes, Fruit of the Loom, and other
companies in announcing a coalition to produce masks. But they are not the kind
hospitals most need. The new masks will be made of a three-ply underwear
fabric, and do not provide the level of protection given by the N95 masks that
health care workers need for intubation and other procedures.
While the corporate announcements, like Apple’s move to donate millions of
masks, may have generated some positive headlines for the Trump administration,
critics say the ad hoc approach is falling far short of the challenge. Industry
executives say companies are reluctant to crank up production lines without
purchasing guarantees from the government. With the economy in free-fall and
factories shuttering around the country, few manufacturers are eager to invest
in new machinery or venture into new products.
On Sunday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, among others, issued a public plea
for Trump to invoke the Defense Production Act, saying, “We cannot wait until
people start really dying in large numbers to start production, especially of
more complicated equipment like ventilators and hospital beds.”
Andrew Cuomo
✔
@NYGovCuomo
We need the federal government to use the Defense Production Act so that we can
get the medical supplies we desperately need.
We can’t just wait for companies to come forward with offers and hope they will.
This is a national emergency.
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11:12 - 23 Mar 2020
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Of course it’s in no way surprising that Trump would prioritize the needs and
desires of big business over matters of life and death, which would explain why
he’s already ready to let people get out in the world and spread the virus
further in an effort to shore up the economy:
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF. AT THE END OF THE 15
DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!
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Update: In a statement, Neil Bradley, Executive Vice President and Chief Policy
Officer, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said: “The Defense Production Act isn’t a
magic wand to immediately solve medical supply shortages. It can’t produce
highly specialized manufacturing equipment overnight. It can’t convert a
refrigerator factory into a ventilator factory.
The proponents of invoking the Defense Production Act have not identified what
problem exists that this law can solve. What is it that businesses are not
already doing that the Defense Production Act would compel them to do? The fact
is American companies are working around the clock to support our country’s
response to the pandemic. Companies that have the necessary expertise and
infrastructure are working closely with all levels of government to get the
products to those who need them most. A variety of manufacturers have risen to
the task and suggested that their equipment can be reconfigured to produce
medical equipment. The real challenge is that we need to produce sophisticated
products that can’t easily be made without the right specialty equipment, which
may not be readily available.
The Defense Production Act was designed for defense industry products with a
single supplier, often with purely domestic production chains. Invoking the law
may do more harm than good in sectors such as pharmaceuticals and medical
equipment because it creates uncertainty and confusion for the companies now
working day and night to make these needed supplies.
It’s time to get back to work on fighting this global pandemic.”
