US trade war with China expected to cost medtech importers almost $1bn

^{Medical technology imports from China will face a 25% tariff in the United States, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) has announced.}

The tariffs cover over 800 products and will affect a trade value of an estimated $34 billion in 2018 alone. The tariffs come from a dispute with China’s trade practices ‘related to the forced transfer of U.S. technology and intellectual property,’ according to the USTR.

Within medtech, the tariffs are expected to cost $836 million for any medical technology imports from China. The list of medical technology products affected by the tariffs includes x-ray tubes, imaging components, medical and surgical sterilisers and more, according to the Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance (MITA).

It’s not all bad news, as when the tariffs were first announced in April, the medtech industry was expecting a costly blow of almost $5 billion. However, thanks to lobbying from trade groups such as AdvaMed and MITA, certain medical devices have been removed from the tariffs list.  

Patrick Hope, executive director of MITA believes that the tariffs could compromise patient access to care.

“These tariffs on imaging products or their components will harm the American medical technology sector’s ability to stay competitive and will adversely affect the U.S. economy in ways that could compromise patient access to care. The Administration has stated that it will implement an exemption process, we have not yet seen any information about how or when it will do so. Policymakers should act quickly to ensure that patient access to innovative life-saving technology is not compromised,” Hope said.

The USTR did announce an exemption process as part of the tariffs, in which the public will have 90 days to file a request for a product to be excluded from the list.