Dr Owain Williams By: Dr Owain Williams
Lecturer in IR and Human Security
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05 Apr 2020 : The President and the International Liberal Order

Q    Mr. President, can you clarify the situation with 3M right now?  Germany said that it was an act of piracy that 200,000 masks were apparently diverted from Thailand to the United States, instead of to Berlin.  Is that a miscommunication?  Did that actually happen?  And should 3M be fulfilling contracts for masks to other countries?

THE PRESIDENT:  We’re very disappointed in 3M.  They should be taking care of our country.  And they can sell to others, but they should be taking care of our country.

The people that have dealt with them have dealt successfully with many companies over the last month.  They don’t like the way 3M has treated our country.  They don’t, frankly, like the representatives of 3M.  And no act of pir- — you said piracy, right?  Piracy?

Q    For Germans — the German order.

THE PRESIDENT:  There’s been no act of piracy.  No, there’s been no act of piracy.  It’s the opposite.  3M has not treated our country well.  And if they do, great.  And if they don’t, they’re going to have a hell of a price to pay.  Okay?

Q    But the German order —

THE PRESIDENT:  I say it that way.  And I watched him on television, on something, talking about how “this is so hard to believe, so hard to fathom.”  They ought to get their act together.  Because I got involved and I looked at what happened, and they have not — 3M has not treated our country well.

Q    Can you just clarify about that German order though?

THE PRESIDENT:  Go ahead, please.

Q    Was that diverted, sir, or was that not diverted?

THE PRESIDENT:  We’ll get you the information.

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