The State Department is asking other countries if it can purchase excess medical supplies to help the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Hill reports.
The State Department has set up a tracker to identify which countries have excess supplies, and that information is being sent to other federal agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to The Hill.
The department is also asking countries if they have the capacity to manufacture more needed goods.
The effort is an attempt to offset supply chain issues, but the president previously said the U.S. can handle the outbreak on its own.
President Donald Trump reportedly asked the president of South Korea March 24 to send the U.S. any spare medical equipment, The Hill reported.
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