Leading U.S. manufacturers of protective equipment told the White House that China banned them from exporting the products they produced from China amid the heightening of the Covid-19 pandemic and Beijing manipulate protective equipment market, according to the New York Post.
Currently, the Trump administration is considering suing China for these alleged actions, a president lawyer was quoted by Fox News on April 5.
“In criminal law, compare this to murder levels,” said Jenna Ellis, a senior legal adviser for Mr. Trump’s re-election campaign.
“People are dying and dying. When you have intentional actions and unscrupulous murder plots, like the current Chinese style, this is considered a first-degree murder.”
Ms. Ellis said the options being considered include suing before the European Court of Human Rights or working “through the United Nations.”
3M and Honeywell executives told US officials that the Chinese government has begun to block the export of N95 masks, breathing machines, shoes, gloves and other products made by its factories in China produces, according to a senior White House official.
China pays manufacturers at the standard wholesale price, but prohibits the sale of essential products to anyone, the official said.
Meanwhile, online data showed that China imported 2.46 billion units of “disease prevention and control materials” between January 24 and February 29, White House officials said.
These equipment, worth nearly $1.2 billion, include more than 2 billion masks and more than 25 million materials for making protective clothing from countries in the European Union, as well as Australia, Brazil and Cambodia.
Chinese Customs data demonstrates an attempt to import protective goods by increasing purchases of a large number of these items — while China, the world largest producer of protective equipment has restricted exports, the official said.
Last week, Mr. Trump applied the National Defense Production Law to order the 3M-based company St. Paul, Minesota gives priority to manufacturing N95 masks for FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Michael Wessell, a founding member of the US-China Economic and Security Review Committee, confirmed the situation and said China’s manipulation has made US hospitals “inadequate in the protection equipment important to deal with the crisis.”
“Some of China’s actions may be illegal, but bringing this event to the law in the midst of a crisis is not very helpful to patients on breathing machines in hospital,” Wessell said.
Christian Whiton, a former senior foreign and trade adviser to President George W. Bush and the Trump administration, described China’s control of protective equipment as “a political war.”
In a statement, Honeywell said: “For most of the first quarter, China suffered the most immediate aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic, so all masks from the facilities were used for local consumption.”
On April 5, 3M did not respond to a request for comment, but in a statement last week, the company said it had been allowed by China to export 10 million N95 masks it produces in China.
Mr. Steve Bannon, Mr. Trump’s former chief strategist and program leader of the “War Room: Pandemic” program, said China’s attitude was similar to “the Chernobyl disaster.”
The Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C did not respond to a request for comment by the US press.
On April 5, the New York Post reported that leading US manufacturers of medical safety devices told the White House that China banned them from exporting products from the country during Covid-19 pandemic, because at that time China was trying to dominate the market for these personal protective equipment.
Remember in January 2020, when China was still buckling in Coronavirus pandemic, the number of deaths was skyrocketing every day, many major cities closed, mourning atmosphere permeated everywhere. The United States and Europe immediately sent hundreds of thousands of masks, hundreds of millions of dollars and equipment to China.
The Henry Jackson Society Research Institute in the UK believes that G7 countries can sue China, demanding compensation of at least $6,500 billion for the spread of Covid-19.
“If China provided accurate information at an early stage, the disease would not have left the country,” the Henry Jackson Society Institute (HJS), based in London, UK, wrote in the “Compensation of Coronavirus” released today.
The document claimed that China violated 10 laws, including the International Health Regulation (IHR), which was tightened after the SARS epidemic in 2003. HJS affirmed that Beijing’s attempt to hide the plague caused Covid-19 spread throughout the world, causing more than 1.3 million infections, more than 74,000 deaths and damage worth trillions of dollars. The US and Europe are currently the hot spots when the numbers of cases and deaths have increased rapidly, the pandemic peak has not yet been determined.
The organization believes that China needs to pay a minimum compensation of $ 6,500 billion, equivalent to the amount G7 countries are spending to deal with diseases and relief the economy because people have to stay at home, and industries.
International Health Regulations (IHR) require countries to monitor and share information about the potential for transmission and the severity of pathogens likely to spread between countries. The Henry Jackson Society Institute accused China of acting in reverse when it concealed information and punished those seeking to publicize these data.
The SCMP newspaper in Hong Kong said nearly 200 cases of Covid-19 had been reported before December 27, 2019, but the Chinese authorities did notify the disease to the World Health Organization (WHO) four days later and confirmed there was no evidence that it spreads from person to person.
“Whistleblowers such as Dr. Li Wenliang have been punished for posting information about the disease. Many people believe that Coronavirus has been transmitted between people before that time,” said JHS, adding countries must call for the formation of a coalition because Beijing “often reacts aggressively to threats on the international arena.“
“This measure will require global courage and solidarity. The Wuhan and Hubei authorities violated the International Health Regulations (IHR) at the beginning of the pandemic, the responsibility must be on the top leadership. It is clear that the Chinese authorities’ way of dealing with the pandemic has violated international law,” the report said.
Taking legal action against the controversy surrounding the IHR International Health Regulations is unprecedented action, but the Henry Jackson Society (JHS) argues that there are frameworks within WHO that allow this. The British Research Institute has also proposed a plan to bring the matter to the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the World Trade Organization or to cite the provisions of an investment agreement, even the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
On April 6, former Justice Department prosecutor Klayman said that he filed a lawsuit with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, last week and received the court notice on the same day. He accused the Chinese government and army of violating international conventions, producing biological weapons and committing crimes against humanity, creating Coronavirus that would endanger Chinese people and the world.
Mr. Klayman said: “I am in contact with lawyers from around the world, from Argentina, India, Turkey, Poland, to Algeria and other countries. “They will not forgive what China has done. It’s not about the Chinese people, but the evil Chinese government. They seem to want to destroy the world.”
On April 4, the Indian International Lawyers Association and the Indian Bar Association filed a lawsuit with the United Nations Human Rights Council, accusing China of causing serious physical and psychological harm to people around the world, as well as causing great economic and social losses. According to Apple Daily, the blockade caused daily losses to India amounting to $4.64 billion.
On April 5, Brazilian Education Minister Weintraub tweeted: “China plans to rule the world,” China was the source of the global Covid-19 pandemic. In an interview with reporters on April 6, Weintraub said that Chinese manufacturers took advantage of the pandemic to make huge profits.
The Brazilian Minister of Health said it was not clear why China had refused orders from Brazil, especially ventilator orders. In 2018-2019, during the U.S.-China trade war, Brazil saved China and became China’s largest buyer of soybeans, now, Brazil is in danger, but China does not help it.
In the worst disaster since World War II created by China’s communist regime, victims are Chinese and people of other countries and regions. There will be a large number of deaths, mental injuries and economic losses that are difficult to be estimated.
Hoang Lan from Hanoi – Thoibao.de (Translated)
