The US Commerce Department encouraged American manufacturers to sell nearly $18 million in face masks and other protective medical gear to China — even as the coronavirus pushed into the United States, a new analysis shows.
In January and February, US exports of masks and related items to China jumped from $1.4 million to about $17.6 million, more than 1,000% compared to the same two months last year, The Washington Post found. Shipments of ventilators shot up by triple digits.
The federal government began pushing the gear in a Commerce Department flier titled “CS China COVID Procurement Service,” published on Feb. 26 — the day when COVID-19 deaths had reached 2,770, nearly all in China.
A few days later, on March 3, an official in the US Embassy in Beijing told colleagues about the “new service” being offered, according to an email.

For Rep. Lloyd Doggett, who obtained the flier and other Commerce Department communications, the move underscores the Trump administration’s failure to act on the threat of a pandemic.

“Instead of taking steps to prepare, they ignored the advice of one expert after another,” said Doggett (D-Texas). “People right now, as we speak, are dying because there have been inadequate supplies of PPE.”