US launches tariff investigations into medical supplies and devices, raising stakes for healthcare supply chain

Editor's Note

The US Department of Commerce has initiated national security investigations that could trigger new tariffs on a wide range of imported medical products, with potentially far-reaching effects for healthcare providers, Reuters September 24 reports.

The probes, opened under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, cover personal protective equipment, medical consumables, and medical devices, alongside robotics and industrial machinery. Products under review include face masks, gowns, gloves, IV bags, infusion pumps, sutures, wheelchairs, crutches, hospital beds, pacemakers, stents, hearing aids, prosthetics, imaging equipment, ventilators, and blood glucose monitors. The Department of Commerce is also asking companies to detail projected demand, domestic production capacity, reliance on foreign supply chains, and the impact of foreign subsidies or predatory trade practices.

As Reuters reports, the investigations could justify tariffs as high as those imposed on steel and aluminum and would affect imports from major suppliers such as China. The move comes amid broader efforts to reshape supply chains across critical sectors from semiconductors to pharmaceuticals.

According to a White & Case September 26 article reporting on the September 24 notice from the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), the agency set a short timeline for input, with public comments due by October 17. The BIS is especially interested in evidence addressing national security risks, foreign concentration of supply, and the feasibility of expanding US production. The investigation could conclude as early as spring 2026, though the Trump administration has signaled it may act more quickly.

Stakeholders can weigh in on whether US dependence on foreign medical imports poses risks such as vulnerability to export restrictions, foreign government subsidies distorting markets, or potential exploitation of supply chains in emergencies. Unlike other trade actions, Section 232 tariffs are exempt from the “baseline” tariffs the administration has imposed under separate authorities, positioning them as a strategic tool to protect sectors deemed essential.