The Biden administration has distanced itself from multiple factories meant to bolster domestic production of critical medical supplies like rubber gloves.
A $100 million federally-funded factory in Maryland sits idle despite breaking ground in 2022, as the contracted company needs more funds to compete with China, now the top supplier.
“I think this is a national story, to be honest with you,” United Safety Technology founder Dan Izhaky said.
“If you look at the $17 billion that went out, there’s got to be probably 50 or 60 other companies that have these facilities that are probably 80, 90 percent complete but actually aren’t producing anything,” United Safety Technology CEO Scott Maier. “And again we need to make the critical items that we need here in the U.S. or at least have a portion so we never have a situation where we can’t get these critical items.”
A nearly completed Virginia rubber plant also lacks funds to connect to utilities or build an adjacent glove factory, despite $123 million in earlier pandemic funding.
“When we talk to the administration…they say, ‘Well, we want the private sector to come in.’ Well, unfortunately, when the government comes in and jumpstarts a project like this, it crowds out the private sector. And then the private sector looks in and says, ‘Well, it looks like the government’s really abandoned you. They’re not giving you money to finish your factory and they’re also not even buying the product that’s coming out,’” Maier said.
Six companies had received $574 million to produce gloves domestically, but only two are operational as the Trump administration effort to boost PPE manufacturing has stalled under Biden.
China has seized the majority market share for US nitrile glove imports since 2021.
Experts say the government could enforce buying American to support the struggling domestic industry, but Biden has shown little interest in the projects intended to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers like China for vital medical gear.
