According to the latest data released by Johns Hopkins University in the United States, as of April 5, the confirmed cases of pneumonia in the world have reached 1.2 million people, with a total death of more than 64000. As the “epicenter” of the epidemic, the United States has more than 300000 confirmed cases, far ahead of other countries.
At the same time, the epidemic situation in the European continent is not optimistic. As one of the European countries most affected by the epidemic, the number of confirmed cases in Germany has also reached 100000. While the German epidemic is on the rise, the United States, which is also the “hardest hit area”, has made a shady move.
According to the global network, an official in Berlin, Germany, revealed on the 3rd that the United States intercepted and transferred a batch of masks produced by 3M company and originally destined for Germany to the United States at Bangkok airport, Thailand. He accused Washington of “modern piracy”.
In response, the US President refused at the White House press conference on the 4th, “there is no piracy, the opposite is true.” Referring to the topic that 3M was asked to give priority to orders from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Lao te said bluntly, “we need masks and we don’t want others to get them”.
Under the severe domestic epidemic, with the surge in the number of confirmed cases, medical supplies, including masks, are even scarcer than gold. To meet its own epidemic prevention needs, the United States seized masks that should have been shipped to Germany, which is indeed a little out of the ordinary. It is worth noting that this is no longer the first “trouble” the United States has found in Germany since the outbreak of the epidemic.
In the middle of last month, media reports said an old special was trying to get the “exclusive right” of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the German company “recovery” vaccine company. Laote is ready to offer us $1 billion to seek this vaccine technology “for exclusive use in the United States”. This shows that it is digging into the “corner” of Germany. The German side fought back for the first time and said it would prevent the United States from “buying out” the German enterprise.
Afterward, Germany has publicly said that the United States has not relaxed its sanctions against other countries at the critical moment of the epidemic, and this act of ignoring the world is likely to lead to global disaster. In addition, on the 19th of last month, German Customs detained several trucks of medical supplies for the 3M group, including a large number of high-grade masks and protective clothing, as well as civilian masks, on the grounds of “suspected illegal import”.
This time, the masks shipped to Germany by the United States are likely to avenge the previous “one arrow revenge”. In addition, with the exponential increase in the number of confirmed cases in the United States, even though the United States has world-class public health and medical system, it is “very struggling” in the face of the epidemic. Although laote has ordered to increase the supply of medical materials, it is still “in short supply”.
As we all know, 3M, as a global top 500 company, has a global market. For Trump’s practice contrary to the humanitarian spirit, 3M not only rejected the request of the U.S. government to restrict the export of its masks but also responded that Trump’s use of the defense production act to restrict the export of the company’s U.S. factories to other countries and disrupt the complex global supply chain is a certain dangerous behavior.
In the face of the epidemic, it is a great irony that the political consciousness of the US government can not compare with that of a commercial company. Even if laote successfully restricts the 3M’s export of masks and other protective articles, the epidemic situation in the United States will not fundamentally change in a short time, and it will make the United States bear more condemnation.