Advocacy

Making American medical manufacturing a national priority

The United States should never be dangerously dependent on foreign sources for the products that protect its healthcare workers, first responders, service members, and families.

AMMA brings domestic manufacturers together with policymakers, agencies, healthcare buyers, and industry partners to build a stronger medical industrial base. We advance practical, bipartisan policies that sustain American production in ordinary times and make it ready to scale when a crisis comes. That base does more than protect the country in an emergency. It supports skilled jobs, local economic growth, and stronger communities where American plants operate.

American plants are already making these products

AMMA member companies operate facilities from coast to coast, including California; Nebraska, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio in the Midwest; New York and Connecticut in the East; and the Carolinas, Texas, and Louisiana in the South. These facilities produce critical medical supplies under U.S. labor and safety standards. Based on annual production capacity reported by AMMA member companies as of August 2026, this domestic base can deliver:

Billions of masks

Surgical and procedure masks produced on U.S. lines

Hundreds of millions of respirators and gowns

Including NIOSH-approved N95s and isolation apparel

3 billion needles and syringes

Essential devices for injections, medication delivery, and blood collection

5 billion nitrile gloves

Domestic nitrile capacity scalable to more than 31 billion with sustained demand

More than 90 percent of the medical gloves used in the United States are manufactured overseas, and similar vulnerabilities remain across other critical PPE categories. This dependence is not a limit on American capability. It is the result of purchasing and trade decisions, and those decisions can be changed.

Source: AMMA analysis of industry data, 2026. Production capacity reported by AMMA member companies, August 2026.

Growing the base means growing American communities

A medical manufacturing base is a national security asset. It is also a payroll, a supplier network, and a local tax base. Every production line operating in a U.S. plant supports skilled jobs in production, maintenance, quality assurance, engineering, and logistics. These are careers that sustain families, strengthen local economies, and create opportunities close to home.

Those jobs multiply. Domestic manufacturers buy resins, nonwovens, tooling, packaging, and equipment from other American suppliers, and they anchor the workforce pipelines, including apprenticeships, technical training, and community college partnerships, that let the next generation build a career close to home. When public and private buyers choose American-made medical supplies, the return arrives twice: a supply chain the country can count on, and lasting economic opportunity in the communities that host these facilities.

Preparedness starts before an emergency

Domestic capacity cannot be switched on after a supply chain breaks. Manufacturers need predictable demand, fair competition, access to investment, and purchasing policies that recognize the strategic value of making critical medical products in the United States.

AMMA turns the operating experience of American manufacturers into concrete policy. We work with Congress, the White House, federal agencies, state leaders, and private-sector buyers to make resilience part of everyday decision-making, not an emergency afterthought.

Our Policy Priorities

Five commitments we carry into every room

  1. Buy American, consistently

    Taxpayer-funded purchasing should strengthen the domestic capacity taxpayers rely on. AMMA advocates for full implementation and expansion of the Make PPE in America Act, clear domestic-content standards, consistent enforcement across agencies, and multi-year contracts that give manufacturers the confidence to invest.

  2. Build steady demand and real preparedness

    Boom-and-bust purchasing weakens the very factories the country needs in a crisis. We support predictable federal purchasing cycles, durable Strategic National Stockpile commitments, regional preparedness, and healthcare payment policies that reward hospitals and health systems for choosing American-made PPE and critical medical supplies.

  3. Enforce fair and ethical trade

    American manufacturers already compete against state subsidies, dumped goods, tariff evasion, transshipment, and products tied to forced labor. AMMA presses for targeted trade remedies, effective customs enforcement, and the closure of loopholes that reward unfair or abusive practices.

  4. Invest in American capacity and innovation

    Building a medical manufacturing base takes long-term capital. Building on the pro-growth tax provisions enacted in 2025, AMMA presses for access to financing, advanced-manufacturing investment, sustained research and development incentives, and domestic production of the raw materials and components that make the full supply chain more secure. Expanding that base supports new skilled jobs and broader economic opportunity in American communities.

  5. Make quality and origin visible

    Buyers should be able to identify products verified as meeting applicable U.S.-made standards. AMMA promotes transparent sourcing, trusted quality, and clear proof of origin, including the AMMA Certified USA Made Product seal, so public and private purchasing can support American workers with confidence.

AMMA Certified USA Made Product seal

AMMA Certified USA Made Product

The AMMA Certified USA Made Product seal gives public and private buyers a simple way to identify critical medical supplies and PPE verified as meeting applicable U.S.-made standards. Look for the seal when you buy.

About the AMMA Seal →

Recent Action · 2026

Advancing Medicare support for American-made medical supplies

AMMA urged CMS to expand domestic payment incentives beyond N95 respirators and submitted comments supporting a potential separate Medicare payment for hospitals that procure domestically produced PPE and essential medicines. Our recommendations address domestic-origin criteria, purchase verification, and a workable payment structure that recognizes the cost and strategic value of American-made medical supplies.

How AMMA Advocates

Experience from the plant floor, on the record in Washington

We bring manufacturers to the table

Through Washington fly-ins, briefings, workshops, and direct engagement, AMMA gives policymakers access to the people who build and operate America's medical manufacturing capacity.

We shape legislation and implementation

We work on bills, appropriations, procurement rules, reimbursement policy, tax policy, and agency implementation so that good intentions produce durable demand and measurable results.

We put evidence on the public record

AMMA submits regulatory comments, open letters, and industry data to HHS, CMS, Commerce, USTR, CBP, Congress, and the Administration.

We build coalitions and public awareness

We make domestic medical manufacturing a priority for public health, economic security, human rights, and national security. We drive media coverage and build a community online to drive the public conversation.

Advocacy in Action

Wins, filings, and milestones

2023 Advocacy

Broadening the alliance and keeping preparedness on Congress's agenda

Founded in 2021 as the American Mask Manufacturers Association, AMMA broadened in 2023 into an alliance of domestic PPE manufacturers, healthcare organizations, and supply-chain partners. Later that year, AMMA joined a coalition calling on Congress to reauthorize the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act and sustain the domestic capacity built after COVID-19.

February–September 2024 Win

Winning stronger China Section 301 treatment for medical products

AMMA urged USTR to end outdated exclusions for Chinese-made medical supplies and give American manufacturers a fair opportunity to compete. USTR's final China Section 301 action strengthened tariff treatment for face masks, medical gloves, needles, and syringes.

January–February 2025 Advocacy

Setting a cross-government manufacturing agenda

In open letters and its federal policy priorities, AMMA called for full implementation of the Make PPE in America Act, stronger trade enforcement, expanded CMS incentives, sustained stockpile funding, immediate domestic R&D expensing, 100 percent bonus depreciation, a permanent Section 199A deduction, and a Medical Supply Security Tax Credit.

2025 Milestone

Launching a trusted American-made seal

AMMA launched the AMMA Certified USA Made Product seal to help public and private buyers identify critical medical supplies and PPE verified as meeting applicable U.S.-made standards.

2025–January 2026 Win

Restoring respirator-approval capacity at NIOSH

When cuts and layoffs threatened NIOSH and its National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, AMMA joined industry allies, unions, and appropriations champions in pressing to protect respirator approval and oversight. AMMA members briefed policymakers and spoke in national and trade media about the risks to worker safety, product approvals, and domestic innovation. The first reinstatements came in May 2025, including staff in the Respirator Approval Program, with further layoff notices revoked in January 2026. AMMA continues to call for a strong, fully funded NIOSH.

July 2025 Win

Securing pro-growth domestic manufacturing provisions

AMMA welcomed enactment of permanent immediate expensing for domestic research and development, 100 percent bonus depreciation for equipment and facilities, a permanent Section 199A deduction, enacted de minimis reform, and new funding and policy direction for domestic reserves. These measures reflected priorities AMMA had urged Congress and the Administration to adopt.

2025–2026 Major Action

Making transshipment and tariff circumvention a federal priority

AMMA made stopping dumped products and transshipment schemes a central trade priority, warning against a ‘China 2.0’ model in which unfairly traded or Chinese-linked goods enter through third countries. AMMA urged stronger enforcement by USTR, Commerce, and CBP; carried the issue into its 2026 agenda; and continues pressing to close circumvention routes and product loopholes that weaken lawful duties.

September 2025–2026 Action

Putting medical-supply dependence into the Section 232 record

AMMA welcomed Commerce's Section 232 investigation into imports of PPE, medical supplies, consumables, and equipment; mobilized manufacturers to provide capacity and vulnerability data; and submitted formal comments documenting the national-security risks of overreliance on foreign supply chains. AMMA continues to press for a final remedy that recognizes medical-supply dependence as a national-security risk and reflects America's existing domestic manufacturing capacity.

April–July 2026 Win

Winning action against forced-labor trade distortions

AMMA filed detailed Section 301 comments documenting domestic capacity and the national-security, market, and human-rights risks associated with overseas PPE supply chains. On July 23, USTR finalized Section 301 duties generally ranging from 10 to 12.5 percent on products from 60 economies in response to failures to prohibit or effectively enforce bans on forced-labor imports. AMMA called the action a long-sought victory and continues pressing for strong implementation and domestic purchasing commitments.

Summer 2026 Advocacy

Applying preparedness lessons to recurring emergencies

As wildfire smoke affected communities from the Midwest to the East Coast, AMMA publicly highlighted the need for dependable access to domestically manufactured, NIOSH-approved N95 respirators and a resilient American medical manufacturing base. These recurring emergencies reinforce why domestic capacity must be sustained before a crisis so American manufacturers are ready when communities need protection.

What Success Looks Like

The outcomes we are working toward

  • Federal agencies use clear Buy American rules and long-term contracts.
  • Hospitals and health systems receive practical incentives to purchase American-made medical supplies.
  • Stockpiles are adequately funded and replenished with high-quality American-made products.
  • Trade enforcement counters circumvention, dumping, and competition built on forced labor.
  • Manufacturers can access the capital and demand signals needed to operate, innovate, and scale.
  • Policymakers and buyers treat domestic medical manufacturing as critical national infrastructure.
  • A growing domestic base supports skilled jobs, local economic growth, and stronger American communities.

Add your voice to American manufacturing

Resilience is built through the choices government, healthcare, and industry make every day. Work with AMMA to secure America's supply of critical medical products, support skilled American jobs, and prepare the country before the next disruption.