Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump invoked the use of the Defense Production Act on Friday to require General Motors to produce more ventilators to deal with increased hospitalizations due to the spread of the novel coronavirus in the United States.
"Our negotiations with GM regarding its ability to supply ventilators have been productive, but our fight against the virus is too urgent to allow the give-and-take of the contracting process to continue to run its normal course," said a statement from the White House. "GM was wasting time. Today's action will help ensure the quick production of ventilators that will save American lives."
A presidential memorandum issued Friday afternoon indicates that Trump has directed Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to use any authorities under the law to require GM to "accept, perform, and prioritize Federal contracts for ventilators."
In a statement, General Motors said they and partner company Ventec have been "working around the clock for over a week" on a deal to build ventilators.
Earlier Friday, Trump signaled he would invoke the Defense Production Act and launched an attack at the company and its CEO, Mary Barra, a frequent target of his ire.
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"They said they were going to give us 40,000 much needed ventilators, 'very quickly'. Now they are saying it will only be 6000, in late April, and they want top dollar. Always a mess with Mary B. Invoke 'P'," Trump tweeted, later clarifying that he was referring to the Defense Production Act.
CNN reported earlier Friday that the Trump administration had been in talks with GM and Ventec Life Systems to announce a joint agreement to produce thousands of desperately needed ventilators, but that announcement was put on hold, according to a person close to the negotiations.
The talks hit a snag this week when administration officials questioned the price tag and timeline.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins and Kristen Holmes contributed to this report.
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