US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he would apply a production law to defend the Cold War DPA if necessary to address the lack of protective equipment and fans needed to combat Covid-19.

"If necessary, we will use the production law for defense," the US President told reporters at the White House. "If we need it, he can do good things."

A few hours later, Trump signed a decree that gave the decision a legal framework. "To ensure that our health system is capable of increasing both capacity and responsiveness to the spread of Covid-19, it is crucial that all the medical equipment needed to respond to Covid-19 be adequately allocated to the national health system and others, who need them most. "

Jeffrey Bialos, under whom the application of this law fell under the Clinton administration, welcomed it in a statement to the NPR server: “They should have done it before. I think it is a useful toolbox in the situation we are in. If the hands are used correctly, it could be effective. ”

"In the short term, I think it is a tool to effectively squeeze and mobilize an industrial base to get the most out of it," Bailos added, adding that it is also good for preparing for the next crisis: but we don't have them. You could then use that power to buy these things, so in five or six months we will not be in the same situation again. ”

The DPA is based on World War II war laws that allowed the government to order industry to produce for war purposes and decide what to produce. After the war they expired, but when the Korean War broke out in 1950, President Harry Truman convinced Congress to come up with his successor, the DPA.

The law is primarily intended in case of war. It gives the President the right to direct production and distribute scarce goods important to national defense. However, it is also suitable for combating the epidemic. In the regulation, Trump stated that it would concern protective equipment (apparently masks and respirators, face masks or protective clothing) and air-conditioning and ventilation units.

On this basis, the government can instruct businesses to produce the necessary goods. It can also decide, without competitive tendering, to buy products from a certain company and not others. At the same time, it allows these firms and selected sectors to provide loans and guarantees and excludes them from the activities of anti-trust bodies.