The Trump administration is enacting an America first policy on exports of N95 respirators and other personal protective equipment, as it has given Customs and Border Protection direction to hold up shipments for federal approval.
The shipments will be subject to Federal Emergency Management Agency review based on U.S. needs during the global coronavirus pandemic, The Washington Times reported.
FEMA needs will determine whether the U.S. government buys the shipment for the national stockpile, sends it to a specific hotspot in the states, or allows it to be exported, according to the report.
"FEMA and CBP are working together to prevent domestic brokers, distributors, and other intermediaries from diverting these critical medical resources overseas," a CBP wrote in a statement.
President Donald Trump has the authority to call on U.S. companies to provide for the country after he invoked the Defense Production Act, a war-time designation for the coronavirus task force response.
Trump has been critical of companies who have not been cooperative with the U.S. government and have been selling valuable medical supplies and equipment overseas.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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