In France and Germany, senior officials said US was paying far above the market price for masks from China, on occasion winning contracts through higher bids even after European buyers believed a deal was done.
PARIS/BERLIN - The global scramble to secure face masks to shield frontline workers from the coronavirus has turned the marketplace into the"Wild West", with the United States often ready to outbid buyers who have already signed deals, officials from Europe to the Americas say.
Now, with global cases surpassing one million and the outbreak exploding in the United States, the competition for precious stocks is intensifying further. The State Department and the agency within the Department of Homeland Security coordinating U.S. efforts to locate and procure protective equipment did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Lea Crager, a spokeswoman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency , the agency coordinating the search for medical supplies abroad, said disasters often lead to price increases for certain goods. On Thursday, Mandetta said Brazil had finally succeeded in placing a 1.2 billion reais order for equipment, although it will only be delivered in 30 days.A second German source employed by a company now helping Merkel's government to order masks said the last weekend of March had been a turning point, and drew a link with the United States' increased presence in the market.
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