Why trump won't use the Defense Production Act

Profiteering.

We want them on the open market from the standpoint of pricing

As urgency for medical supplies builds, the White House says companies are stepping up to help.

...On Saturday, he said that he had not used the Defense Production Act — which empowers the government to mobilize the private sector to increase of scarce goods — because companies were stepping up voluntarily. He cited Hanes and General Motors, which he said would make masks and ventilators.

“We want them on the open market from the standpoint of pricing,” Mr. Trump said. Underscoring the challenge presented by market pricing, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York said Saturday that masks that ordinarily sold for 80 cents each were priced at $4.

“Look, it’s price gouging, but we need them and most of these are coming from overseas,” Mr. Cuomo said.

Other companies the administration announced coordination with include Honeywell and 3M. Mr. Trump also said Pernod Ricard USA had repurposed production facilities in four states to manufacture hand sanitizer, with the first delivery expected on Tuesday.

The president suggested that masks don’t always need to be thrown away, but can be sanitized, saying, “We have very good liquids for doing this.”