President Donald Trump said Monday that the White House and 3M (NYSE:MMM) reached a "very amicable agreement" that will bring more than 55 million masks to the U.S. each month, following a public dispute between the manufacturing giant and the president.
"So the 3M saga ends very happily," Trump concluded at a White House press briefing on the coronavirus outbreak.
The new deal has 3M importing 166.5 million respirator masks to the U.S. over the next three months. The additional masks will supplement the 35 million masks 3M produces domestically each month, the company said in a statement later Monday night.
The imported masks will primarily come from China starting this month, the statement said.
The company also said it will not stop exporting U.S.-made respirators to Canada and Latin America – a major point of contention with Trump that spilled into public last week.
The remarks at the latest daily press briefing marked a major shift in tone for the president, who last week harshly accused 3M of wrongdoing over "what they were doing with their masks."
They "will have a big price to pay!" Trump tweeted Thursday.
The dispute centered around 3M’s exports to outside markets. 3M said in a statement Friday that the Trump administration asked it to stop exporting its U.S.-made respirator masks to Canadian and Latin American markets.
3M shares vaulted $6.80, or 4.8%, early Tuesday to $147.50
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