Beautiful Virgin Islands

Sunday, Jul 20, 2025

Justin Trudeau hints at retaliation after White House orders 3M to halt ‘critical’ N95 mask exports to Canada health workers

3M says it will comply with the Defence Production Act to prioritise US orders of N95 masks but there will be ‘significant humanitarian implications’ elsewhere. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calls order a mistake, pointing out that thousands of Canadian nurses travel to US to work each day, and trade ‘goes both ways’

The White House has ordered mask manufacturer 3M to halt exports of N95 respirators to Canada and elsewhere that were bound for health care workers, the company said on Friday, pushing back against the US administration amid the Covid-19 pandemic and prompting hints of retaliation from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

There would be “significant humanitarian implications”, the firm said in a statement, in response to the White House’s invocation on Thursday of the Defence Production Act (DPA) requiring 3M to prioritise orders of N95 masks for US authorities.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that he agreed with 3M that the White House order was “a mistake” and pointed out that thousands of Canadian nurses travelled to the US to work every day, adding that trade “goes both ways”.

CEO Mike Roman said his Minnesota-based company would comply with the DPA export ban, even as he warned of consequences for health workers around the world, including Canada, where he said 3M was the “primary supplier” of N95s.

N95 masks are a crucial piece of protective equipment for health workers dealing with Covid-19 patients and are in short supply globally.

The company said it had been working closely with the White House to meet its request to satisfy demand from the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) ahead of others, and it was looking forward to implementing the order.

But the Trump administration also requested that 3M “cease exporting respirators that we currently manufacture in the United States to the Canadian and Latin American markets”.

“There are, however, significant humanitarian implications of ceasing respirator supplies to health care workers in Canada and Latin America, where we are a critical supplier of respirators,” it said.



3M also warned that cutting off exports would cause other countries to do the same, resulting in less overall availability of N95 masks in the US, not more.

“If that were to occur, the net number of respirators being made available to the United States would actually decrease,” 3M said.

“That is the opposite of what we and the administration, on behalf of the American people, both seek.”

In an interview with CNBC, Roman said the company was “net importing [N95 masks] into the US, and we’ve been telling the administration [that] for days and days”.

“We’re more than happy to shift our overseas production to the US, but there are going to be consequences on a humanitarian level. We are often the sole provider of those respirators in countries around the world,” he said.

“We will comply with DPA,” said Roman, “and we are taking steps to increase our imports, where we have that ability.”

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he anticipated issuing more orders under the Defence Production Act “in the very near future”.

“We assigned an element of the act against 3M and hopefully they'll be able to do what they are supposed to do,” he said.

Trudeau said in response to questions at a press conference on Friday that it “would be a mistake for both of our countries to limit access to goods and essential personnel”.

“3M has indicated it understands how important it is to deliver to Canada [and] it would be a mistake to restrict trade in essential goods,” he said.

He pointed out that thousands of nurses travelled to Detroit every day to work, and Canada also sent important medical equipment to the US.

“We are receiving essential supplies from the US but the US also receives essential supplies and products and indeed healthcare professionals from Canada every single day…these are things that Americans rely on,” he said.

3M said that last weekend the White House had requested that it increase imports of N95 masks from its overseas factories. It said that this week it obtained approval from China to send to the US 10 million N95 respirators manufactured by its mainland operation.

“We will continue to maximise the amount of respirators we can produce on behalf of US health care workers, as we have every single day since this crisis began,” the company said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
×