In a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA) stresses the importance of exempting medical imaging devices from Section 301 tariffs. Tai recently announced the restart of an exclusion process related to these tariffs imposed on Chinese imports.
A trade association representing manufacturers of medical imaging equipment, radiopharmaceuticals, contrast media, and focused ultrasound therapeutic devices, MITA warns that Section 301 tariffs have negatively impacted the manufacturing of medical devices since they were first implemented in 2018.
“Despite intending to encourage and promote U.S. manufacturing, Section 301 tariffs, in practice, have not incentivized the production of these needed components in the United States,” writes Patrick Hope, MITA executive director Patrick Hope. “These tariffs have hurt domestic manufacturing of products essential to the hospitals and patients we serve, especially as we also face increased supply chain challenges and demand due to COVID-19.”
Describing imaging devices as a “humanitarian good,” MITA argues that medical imaging equipment should not be subject to additional tariffs that could potentially disrupt trade flows, increase costs, and impede patient access to care. The trade association also suggests that tariffs on these devices “do not achieve desired outcomes,” as the market access challenges the medical device sector has experienced are primarily procurement and investment limitations.
In closing, MITA’s letter states: “Additional tariffs on medical imaging devices not only distort beneficial trade flows but perversely disincentive U.S. manufacturing, a key priority of the President Biden Administration.”
To read the letter in its entirety, click here.