Press Release
AMMA Welcomes Administration's Decision to Keep PPE and Critical Medical Supplies Off U.S.-China Tariff Reduction List
Decision builds on years of AMMA advocacy to treat domestic medical manufacturing as a national security priority
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Medical Manufacturers Association (AMMA) today welcomed the U.S.-China Board of Trade's first "30-for-30" list, which leaves personal protective equipment and critical medical supplies off the list of goods set for reduced tariffs. The Board, created by President Trump and President Xi Jinping during the President's May visit to Beijing, is meant to manage trade in non-sensitive products between the two countries.
"We're grateful to the Administration for listening to American manufacturers," said Eric Axel, Executive Director of AMMA. "This list is for non-sensitive products. Masks, gloves, gowns, and syringes don't belong on it. They are national security goods.”
Axel added, “Roughly 80 to 90 percent of our PPE already comes from abroad. We can't afford to make China an even easier source. Today's decision protects American patients as well as manufacturers."
The decision is the latest sign that Washington is taking AMMA's arguments seriously.
In June, the U.S. Trade Representative found that all 60 economies in its Section 301 forced-labor investigations had failed to ban or enforce bans on imports made with forced labor. USTR proposed an additional 12.5% tariff on goods from 45 economies, including China, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand, and an additional 10% tariff on goods from 15 others. Those countries are major suppliers of N95 respirators, surgical masks, nitrile gloves, and medical gowns.
AMMA has made this case at every level.
AMMA filed submissions in the Section 232 and Section 301 investigations and called for targeted tariffs on critical medical imports. For years, the association has also worked closely with key Members of Congress and senior Administration officials to make domestic medical manufacturing a national security and economic competitiveness priority. It has consistently supported President Trump's efforts to end unfair trade practices.
The association will keep working with Ambassador Greer, Secretary Bessent, and the Board of Trade as they review and possibly expand the list. AMMA's goal is to protect American healthcare consumers and U.S. national security, and that means holding the line on China.