Just now! The United States will impose additional tariffs on imported medical equipment

Source: One Entry into the Deep Sea of Foreign Trade, Instrument Home, In Vitro Diagnostic Observation, Caixin Media, etc

The Trump administration announced on September 24 that it will officially launch multiple Section 232 tariff investigations on September 2, 2025, to review imports of personal protective equipment (PPE), medical consumables, medical devices (including medical equipment), robots, and industrial machinery.

These investigations aim to assess whether these imported products pose a threat to the US national security and may lead to the implementation of new tariff measures. This series of actions is part of the Trump administration's trade policy, continuing similar investigations into steel, aluminum, automobiles and other sectors previously, aiming to reduce reliance on foreign supply chains, especially those from China.

According to a notice published in the Federal Register, the US Department of Commerce is conducting an investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which officially began on September 2. The law stipulates that the president has the authority to impose tariffs on goods deemed crucial to the country, while the Ministry of Commerce is required to put forward corresponding policy recommendations within 270 days. This means that in the coming period of time, the trend of tariffs in related industries will gradually become clear.

This survey focuses on imported personal protective equipment (PPE), medical consumables and medical devices (including instruments), etc.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) refers to protective equipment used in healthcare Settings. PPE includes but is not limited to surgical masks, N95 respirators, gloves, protective suits and related medical parts and components.

Medical consumables refer to disposable or short-term items used for patient diagnosis, treatment and disease prevention. Medical consumables include but are not limited to: medical/surgical instruments (such as syringes, needles, infusion pumps, forceps, scalpels); Medical/surgical supplies (such as intravenous injection bags, catheters, tracheotomy intubations, anesthesia equipment, gauze/bandages, sutures, diagnostic and laboratory reagents); And related medical parts and components.

Medical equipment generally refers to durable devices, tools and machines used in healthcare to support patient care. Examples include but are not limited to: wheelchairs and trolleys; Crutches And hospital beds.

In this survey, the medical sector has drawn much attention, reflecting the concerns of some Trump administration officials about the United States' excessive reliance on foreign countries for medical consumables. These medical consumables include syringes, sutures, catheters and gauze, etc. In addition, the Ministry of Commerce will also review the trade of personal protective equipment, such as gloves and masks that were widely used during the ** period. However, the newly announced medical device investigation clearly excludes prescription drugs, biologics and other drugs, which have been reviewed as part of a separate investigation by the Ministry of Commerce.