A Fanuc robot -arm moves on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, during a media tour through the Amazon.com Inc. DAB2 Fulfillment Center in Daytona Beach, Florida, USA. Photographer: Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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The Trump administration has initiated national security examinations for imports of robotics, industrial machines and medical devices, a step that could pave the way for new tariffs and increase costs for consumers, hospitals and manufacturers.
The Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday that the probes were opened in September. 2 According to the Federal Register, the national security of the United States is threatened according to the “§ 232” of the Commercial Administrative Act.
The latest probes are expanding the list of elements that could be exposed to higher tariffs to contain personal protective equipment such as surgical masks, N95 -ate protection devices, gloves and other medical consumables, including injections and needles.
They also extend to imported medical devices such as wheelchairs, hospital beds as well as diagnostic and treatment devices such as pacemakers, insulin pumps and heart valves.
“Pharmaceuticals such as prescription drugs, over -the -counter drugs, biologicals and special medication are not covered in this study, since these imports are examined in a separate examination of § 232,” said the trade department.
The probes could be used as a justification for fresh sectoral tariffs that aim to increase domestic production of goods that are considered crucial for national security.
Advamed, the trading group that represents medical technology and device manufacturers, emphasized on Thursday in a statement that 70% of medical products in US hospitals already “produced in America in thousands of production facilities in all 50 states”.
The group said that she would continue to work with the Trump administration and added: “We believe that this process will increase the fact that US Medtech production is strong and will cheer for lower tariffs more production and employment in the United States, which means higher access to life -saving technologies and lower costs for American hospitals and patients.”
The Ministry of Commerce is looking for comments on their planned demand for these products and the question of whether domestic production can satisfy local demand and the role of foreign offer chains.
Companies are also invited to sketch the effects of foreign subsidies and the administration known as “predatory trade practices”.
The Trump administration previously called Section 232 to impose taxes for automobiles and parts, copper, steel and aluminum.
Studies on imports of pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and chip components such as silicon wafers, chipmaking devices and the associated downstream products are also not yet completed, which reflects Washington’s concerns about the dependency on overseas supply chains.
All new tasks that result from the sector-specific probes would be stacked on the country-specific tariffs of US President DOANLD Trump, although the European Union and Japan have made agreements that they could protect against additional taxes.
According to the US International Trade Commission, the United States is heavily dependent on Mexico and China for machines, whereby imports from the two countries make up more than 18% and 17% of the total US machines in 2023.
The auto industry could be one of the hardest of the latest potential tariffs, since according to the International Federation of Robotics, the greatest demand for industrial robots – 13,747 installations. Most of these robots were imported, with only a few manufacturers produced in the USA, the group said.
Culver City, Ca -September 23: Detail of bottles and syringe with a Covid -19 vaccination by Pfizer in the Emperor Permanent Venice -Medical Office in Culver City Tuesday, September 23, 2025. Details of bottles, syringes and vaccinations.
All J. Schaben | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
The potential taxes for medical devices and protective equipment could increase the costs for hospitals and patients and reduce access to critical devices and care.
In April Scott Whitaker, CEO of Advamed, warned of the risk of higher costs.
“The executives of the Medtech Supply Chain already report concerns of the supply chain, and we cannot afford to increase the cost of health care for patients or the health system,” he said at the time. “The reality is that all increased costs largely from tax -financed health programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and the [Veterans Health Administration]. “
The trade groups of the hospital also sounded the alarm this year and warned that higher tariffs could affect the quality of the supply.
Rick Pollack, the CEO of the American Hospital Association, said in April that “disorders in the availability of these critical devices – many of which are internationally related – have the potential to disrupt patient care”.
Correction: This article has been updated to record Advamed’s latest explanation and clarify the time of CEO Scott Whitakers’ comments.
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