Mexican governor orders closure of US factory after it refuses to sell ventilators to Mexico

Row is the latest in a series of stand-offs between US companies and foreign countries over sale of medical supplies to fight coronavirus

A couple is seen outside Smiths Medical, a global manufacturer of specialty medical devices, in Tijuana, Mexico March 27, 2020. Picture taken March 27, 2020. (REUTERS / Jorge Duenes)

A governor in Mexico has ordered the closure of a factory run by an American health care firm for refusing to sell ventilators to Mexican hospitals treating coronavirus patients.

Jaime Bonilla, governor of the border state of Baja California, said he closed the Smiths Medical facility because it was not providing an essential service to Mexicans, which is a requirement for factories to stay open during the pandemic.

"We said to them 'if you want us to consider you essential, you have to provide some benefit to the people of Baja California, by selling us ventilators, because we need them,'" Mr Bonilla said.

"They said 'no, we are not going to sell you anything, we are just going to continue to use your labour'".

The stand-off is the latest in a series of retaliatory measures between the US and other countries over the sale of medical equipment that is critical in the fight against the coronavirus. The Trump administration recently invoked the Defence Production Act, a Korean War-era law, to compel American firms to sell equipment to the US government.

The US government earlier this month blocked 3M, a Minnesota-based manufacturer of protective healthcare equipment, from exporting medical protective equipment to Canada. The US eventually came to an agreement with 3M to continue exporting masks after Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, suggested he might take retaliatory action.

The US also redirected a shipment of 200,000 3M masks that was heading to Germany for use in the battle against coronavirus there. Andreas Geisel, Berlin's interior minister, said the diversion of masks from Berlin amounted to an "act of modern piracy".

Mr Bonilla said Smiths Medical had contacted Mexico's foreign relations secretary and the US Ambassador to try to stave off the closure order. But he vowed no to cave in to the pressure.

The company is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and owned by UK-based Smiths Group plc. Industry sources cited by the Associated Press have reportedly argued that the factory in Baja California operates on the condition that it does not sell products on the local market.

Mexico has seen a sharp rise in the number of coronavirus cases in the last two weeks from around 993 cases at the end of March to nearly 5,000 today. Some 296 people have died so far in the country.

Additional reporting by agencies