"Now that borders are opening up, and all the manufacturers have been trying to increase their capacity- whether it's for filters, whether it's 2000 L bags or media...
This is an industry-wide problem.
...And we're getting better availability of product. It's still tight.
In normal times you would want six months worth of raw material inventory in a production plant, and we don't have that.
March: White House and European Commission set up a liaison between Jeffrey Zients and Thierry Breton to help overcome input shortages facing vaccine makers on both sides of the Atlantic... 2/10
April: CureVac CEO complains about lack of access to inputs, blaming the Defense Production Act:
“Be it chemicals, equipment, filters or hoses: US manufacturers are obliged first to meet American demand, and that means we are slipping down the list” 3/10
US government was accused of banning exports of vaccine-making supplies, most notably to India. New supply chain data reveals there was never a US export ban. But the episode highlights a problem demanding new policy.
China actually bought more from the US in 2020 than in 2019, including of those "phase one" products.
China even bought relatively more from the US of those goods than it bought from the rest of the world... 2/
But both comparisons are irrelevant for the LEGAL agreement. (Read the text.)
Under the threat of continued tariff escalation, Trump convinced Beijing in December 2019 to commit to an additional $200bn on top of *2017* trade flows—not 2019.