For companies exporting PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) out of the United States, it’s recently become more difficult to do so. As the COVID-19 crisis continues to impact all 50 states, there are ever-increasing demands across the country for medical supplies. Given the scarcity of some of these supplies, on April 7th the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) entered a temporary final rule in the Federal Register regulating the exportation of certain PPE.
Here’s an overview of what you need to know about this new rule.
Memorandum on Allocating Certain Scarce or Threatened Health and Medical Resources to Domestic Use
On April 3rd, President Trump issued a memorandum on allocating scarce medical resources. In this memo, he directed the Department of Homeland Security, through FEMA, to use the Defense Production Act to keep scarce medical supplies in the United States. As a result, FEMA published a temporary final rule on April 7th, restricting the exportation of certain PPE without the explicit approval of FEMA.
Details of the Temporary Final Rule
The rule went into effect on April 7th, 2020, and will remain in place until August 8th, 2020. During this time period, certain medical supplies may not be exported without explicit FEMA approval. The PPE included in the rule are:
● N95 filtering facepiece respirators
● Other filtering facepiece respirators including N99, N100, R95, R99, R100, P95, P99, and P100 respirators
● Elastomeric, air-purifying respirators and the corresponding filters and cartridges
● PPE surgical masks
● PPE gloves or surgical gloves
The rule also notes that additional PPE may be added to these requirements as additional items become scarce or necessary for national defense.
It is important to note that not every shipment containing the above-mentioned items will be detained for FEMA determination, and not every shipment that is detained will be prohibited from export. Once a shipment is detained, FEMA aims to make a decision within 72 hours.
This new rule obviously will have substantial impacts on companies that export PPE. For additional questions about this rule or for support with either the importation or exportation of PPE, contact our team of experts. We are up-to-date on the ever-changing regulations and demands during this unprecedented time, helping to make it easier for your business to navigate through today and tomorrow.
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