As hospital executives and healthcare organizations express concern about how tariffs may affect the medical supply chain, a recent industry analysis found that about 70% of medical devices marketed in the U.S. are manufactured solely overseas.
GlobalData, which tracks the medical device supply chain, reported that while 75% of U.S.-marketed medical devices are produced internationally, 69% of those are only available through foreign manufacturers.
About 13% of the overseas-manufactured devices originate from China. On June 11, President Donald Trump stated that the total tariffs on products made in China stand at 55%.
In 2024, the U.S. imported more than $75 billion worth of medical devices and supplies, according to the American Hospital Association. These imports include single-use blood pressure cuffs, stethoscope covers and sterile drapes, as well as commonly used devices such as anesthesia instruments, cautery pencils, needles, syringes and pulse oximeters.
“The low-margin nature of these products makes them difficult to produce within the U.S.,” the AHA wrote in a June 11 letter to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health. “At the same time, disruption in the availability of these devices would curtail hospitals’ ability to perform life-saving surgeries and keep patients safe from contagion, as well as hinder providers’ ability to effectively diagnose, monitor and treat patients.”
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