Trump administration cuts 60 Chinese companies from supplying N95 masks, citing low quality

The Trump administration on Thursday reportedly withdrew its approval for more than 60 manufacturers in China to export N95-style masks to the United States, amid the coronavirus.

The announcement was made by the Food and Drug Administration and follows federal inspectors finding a large number of low-quality products from those companies, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

The FDA said the decision cuts the number of approved Chinese manufacturers from 80 to 14.

The mask are essentially for front-line medical workers, who come into close contact with virus patients, who can spread the infection by spraying saliva droplets when they breath and cough.  

An FDA official told The Journal the agency had seen “a growing number of respirators that failed to meet the expedited performance standards.”

The change nevertheless occurs amid a growing desire among Republican lawmakers and others to reduce the United States’ dependency on goods made in China, where the virus started.