ARTICLE SUMMARY:
US and Europe medtech groups align on message to zero out medtech tariffs. Excerpted from Pathways’ Picks April 30: CDRH Departures and Delays, Medtech Tariffs Pushback, and More.
Both AdvaMed and MedTech Europe stepped up public efforts pushing for a reciprocal “zero for zero” tariff policy in which countries agree to zero tariffs on medical technology. “This humanitarian principle, as well as the primacy of the United States in medtech innovation and the restoration of American health, are at stake,” Scott Whitaker, AdvaMed’s president and CEO, wrote April 22 in the Baltimore Sun. “Taking tariffs on medtech off the table would eliminate that risk.” MedTech Europe and aligned EU association express similar points in an April 28 letter to European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen. “Recent trade tensions and the threat of tariffs now pose an existential threat, both to our industry, and to the patients, healthcare professionals and to health systems who depend on seamless, timely access to the technologies we provide,” the EU groups wrote. The Trump administration earlier this month issued a 90-day pause on “reciprocal” tariffs on Europe and other countries around the world, but maintained 10% tariffs on most imported goods with no medtech exemption.