The Bureau of Industry and Security is accepting input no later than Oct. 17 on two new Section 232 investigations to determine the effects on national security of imports from all countries of (1) personal protective equipment, medical consumables, and medical equipment, including devices, and (2) robotics and industrial machinery. These investigations could result in the imposition of additional tariffs on imports of these products, which are defined by BIS to include the following.
PPE – PPE used in health care settings, including surgical masks, N95 respirators, gloves, gowns, and related medical parts and components
Medical consumables – single-use or short-term-use items used for patient diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of conditions, including medical/surgical instruments (e.g., syringes, needles, infusion (IV) pumps, forceps, scalpels), medical/surgical supplies (e.g., IV bags, catheters, tracheostomy tubes, anesthesia equipment, gauze/bandages, sutures, diagnostic and laboratory reagents), and related medical parts and components
Medical equipment – durable equipment, tools, and machines used in healthcare to support patient care, including carriages and wheelchairs, crutches, and hospital beds
Medical devices – any instrument, apparatus, or machine used in the diagnosis, monitoring, or treatment of medical conditions, including pacemakers, insulin pumps, coronary stents, heart valves, hearing aids, robotic and non-robotic prosthetics, blood glucose monitors, orthopedic appliances, electromedical apparatus (e.g., computed tomography scanners, magnetic resonance imaging machines), electrosurgical apparatus, x-ray apparatus/other radiation equipment, respiratory machines (e.g., ventilators, respirators, oxygen apparatus), and MRI machines
Robotics and industrial machinery – robots and programmable, computer-controlled mechanical systems, including CNC machining centers; turning and milling machines; grinding and deburring equipment; industrial stamping and pressing machines; automatic tool changers; jigs and fixtures; machine tools for cutting, welding, and handling work pieces; and application-specific specialty metalworking equipment used to treat, form, or cut metal, such as autoclaves and industrial ovens, metal finishing and treatment equipment, EDM machinery, and laser and water-cutting tools and machinery
Interested parties are invited to submit written comments, data, analyses, or other information pertinent to these investigations. Among other things, BIS is interested in the following.
- current and projected demand for covered goods in the U.S.
- the extent to which domestic production can meet that demand
- the role of foreign supply chains, particularly major exporters, in meeting that demand
- the concentration of U.S. imports from a small number of suppliers or foreign nations and the associated risks
- the impact of foreign government subsidies and predatory trade practices on U.S. industry competitiveness
- the economic impact of artificially suppressed prices due to foreign unfair trade practices and state-sponsored overproduction
- the potential for export restrictions by foreign nations or for foreign control or exploitation of the supply chain
- the ability of foreign nations to weaponize their control over supplies of covered products or of foreign persons to weaponize the capabilities or attributes of foreign-built products
- the feasibility of increasing domestic capacity to reduce import reliance
- the impact of current trade policies on domestic production and whether additional measures, including tariffs or quotas, are necessary to protect national security
Copyright © 2025 Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.; WorldTrade Interactive, Inc. All rights reserved.