American manufactures cannot compete with below-cost, 1-cent masks from China. Citing national security, domestic manufacturers are asking the Biden Administration for help. 

Even with Made in USA labels on the boxes, few consumers are willing to spend 10 times as much for an American alternative to a Chinese-made mask.

For instance, American manufacturer Premium-PPE has seen its monthly mask production plunge nearly 90% from last year’s peak, falling to 4 million to 5 million.

Idle equipment and piles of unsold merchandise fill its factory in the city of Virginia Beach. Its workforce, once boasting as many as 280 people, has shrunk to about 50. And the company blames cheap imports from China for its reversal of fortune.

“Selling the mask for less than a penny is not possible,” said Brent Dillie, the chief revenue officer.

The U.S. has nearly 300 million masks sitting unused in warehouses, and producers are going under, according to the American Mask Manufacturer’s Association, which includes small and midsize companies. The group, chaired by Dillie, sent a letter to President Joe Biden in May asking for the government to buy up this inventory, among other support measures.

Maintaining mask production in the U.S. to prepare for future pandemics is “a matter of national security,” the letter said. 

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