ARTICLE SUMMARY:
In this week’s Pathways Picks: The US Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s tariffs, but Trump immediately moved to reboot the levies; no medtech in SOTU; CPT panel approves new codes including AI; FDA updates MDUFA stats and taps new digital health director; South Africa outlines its global regulatory reliance policies for devices; and more global updates.
US Policy Picks
Once and future tariffs, Trump speech, CPT codes, and FDA backlog:
Tariff’s struck down and rebooted. The US Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s global tariff agenda relying on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act last Friday, but there is little expectation in medtech or other impacted industry that the decision will result in much of a reprieve in the near term. “We expect the administration will now pursue tariffs through other authorities to meet the President’s goal of eliminating trade imbalances and incentivizing U.S. manufacturing,” AdvaMed CEO Scott Whitaker said February 23. As of Tuesday, under different authorities, the president already instituted a new 10% global tariff that will last for 150 days and the White House is working to raise the rate to 15%, according to news reports. Whitaker says the industry will continue to make a case to the president for carve-outs targeting industries like medtech, which contribute to trade surpluses. “The US medical technology sector is a model of the President’s [America First] vision, and, working together, we see a clear and constructive path to advance those goals,” Whitaker noted.
