4 ms·

Old alliances are fragile and will be broken in times of desperation. To throw your allies under the bus like this will not be forgotten. I hope that one conse

Old alliances are fragile and will be broken in times of desperation. To throw your allies under the bus like this will not be forgotten. I hope that one consequence of these and similar action during this crisis will be an end to the global JIT production strategy and spur more decentralized and local production. Why are we in Europe dependent on a US company with production in the far east, for critical medical supplies?

makomk 7y ago
Like every country on the planet, you need far more N95 masks than usual right now, and there is literally not enough manufacturing capacity on the entire planet. Europe and especially Germany banned exports and blocked shipping of existing orders a while back, but because the US hadn't done so yet you could get away with siphoning off the US supply whilst banning them from doing the same to you.
- KozmoNau7 7y ago
  Instead of making this another US vs Europe "we did/but they did" slapfight, try reading my post again. EU countries instituted export regulations from their own countries, they didn't ban exports, they wanted to at least regulate how much left the country. The US intercepted already agreed upon shipments, by swooping in and offering a much higher payment and strong-arming companies like 3M. The blame lies both with the US government and the manufacturers ignoring existing deals and agreements in favor of cold profit. And the US government also deserves blame for not recognizing the threat earlier, which they are now using as an excuse to screw over the rest of the world. Again. Another important point is that companies like 3M are US based, adding yet another imbalance of power in this relationship. However, my main point is why do we accept this fragile global JIT supply chain? We are we relying on essential products having to be shipped across the globe?

makomk 7y ago

Like every country on the planet, you need far more N95 masks than usual right now, and there is literally not enough manufacturing capacity on the entire planet. Europe and especially Germany banned exports and blocked shipping of existing orders a while back, but because the US hadn't done so yet you could get away with siphoning off the US supply whilst banning them from doing the same to you.

KozmoNau7 7y ago
Instead of making this another US vs Europe "we did/but they did" slapfight, try reading my post again. EU countries instituted export regulations from their own countries, they didn't ban exports, they wanted to at least regulate how much left the country. The US intercepted already agreed upon shipments, by swooping in and offering a much higher payment and strong-arming companies like 3M. The blame lies both with the US government and the manufacturers ignoring existing deals and agreements in favor of cold profit. And the US government also deserves blame for not recognizing the threat earlier, which they are now using as an excuse to screw over the rest of the world. Again. Another important point is that companies like 3M are US based, adding yet another imbalance of power in this relationship. However, my main point is why do we accept this fragile global JIT supply chain? We are we relying on essential products having to be shipped across the globe?