From government stock seizures to sales to the highest bidder on airport tarmacs, the hunt for face masks amid the coronavirus outbreak has become ...
PARIS: From government stock seizures to sales to the highest bidder on airport tarmacs, the hunt for face masks amid the coronavirus outbreak has become a global free-for-all where the rules of fair play no longer apply.
The president of the Ile-de-France region encompassing Paris, Valerie Pecresse, said this week that a shipment of masks ordered for her hard-hit department was snatched at the last minute by"Americans who made a higher bid"."The Americans pay cash sight unseen, which obviously can be more tempting for people just looking to make money off the entire world's distress," she said.
"But outbidding on a mask delivery is more a case of competing for access to resources. It's unfortunate but it's not going to spark an outbreak of hostilities." And since only a handful of Chinese mask producers have export licenses, most have to use middlemen to sell to foreign buyers, vastly increasing the number of intermediaries in a seller's market.
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