Pentagon Urges Mexico to Reopen COVID-Closed Factories That Supply US Weapon Makers – By Marcus Weisgerber (Defense One) / April 20 2020
A surprising number of America’s defense manufacturers rely on parts made south of the border.
The continued flow of various weapons to the Pentagon during the pandemic will depend to a surprising degree on Mexico, the U.S. neighbor frequently criticized by President Trump.
Many U.S. defense firms, particularly aircraft manufacturers, rely on Mexican suppliers, many of whom have closed or slowed operations during the pandemic, said Ellen Lord, defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment.
“I think one of the key things we have found out are some international dependencies,” Lord said Monday during a press conference at the Pentagon. “Mexico right now is somewhat problematical for us but we’re working through our embassy, and then there are pockets in India, as well.”
After discussing the supply problem with Christopher Landau, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, last week, Lord said she would write Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard “to ask for help to reopen international suppliers” in Mexico.
“We are seeing impact on the industrial base by several pockets of closure internationally,” she said.
The Pentagon’s supply-chain dependence on Mexico has grown over the past decade as defense firms large and small outsourced production.
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