State manufacturers make plans to battle pandemic.

Even as they wait for the Trump administration's enforcement of the Defense Production Act, South Carolina manufacturers PAI Pharma and QM Group are gearing up to provide critical medical supplies amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The act, invoked on March 18, vests the American president with the power to prioritize the production of critical needs goods during a national security threat.

President Trump has yet to enforce the act, despite prompting from national medical organizations, but Peter Navarro, the administration's trade and manufacturing policy director, asserted that a number of private companies have volunteered to produce and donate critical needs goods during a nationally broadcast Sunday press conference.

"The Defense Production Act has given me quiet leverage. What we have seen with this outpouring of volunteers from private enterprise, we are getting what we need without putting the heavy hand of government down," Navarro said.

A National Manufacturers Association survey requested by Trump surged through South Carolina's economic development networks last week, prompting manufacturers to disclose their production capabilities for critical needs components. Needed supplies include parts for respirators, facemasks, test kits and vital sign monitors.

The S.C. Economic Developers' Association, SCBio, Greenville Area Development Corporation and Orangeburg County Development Commission, among other state economic development leaders, forwarded the survey to hundreds of industry partners. SCBio also shared a request from Thornton Kirby, president and CEO of the S.C. Hospital Association, for manufacturers to report personal protection equipment production capabilities.

"Manufacturers are positioned to help. Those that can, I have no doubt, will," said Erin Ford, executive vice president of SCBio. "In South Carolina, we take care of each other, so I have no doubt that leadership at the life science organizations will do so if they are able to. We have an innovative culture, so even if it is not apparent at first blush, it is something that people will be working on."

Greenville's Pharmaceutical Associates Inc. may not be able to donate respirator components or face masks, but the company does produce pharmaceuticals like acetaminophen and Ibuprofen. These pharmaceuticals, along with others that quell flu-like symptoms, have...

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