It is possible that Donald Trump has not finished it with his customs duties. According to CNBC, the United States Ministry of Commerce has launched surveys on robots, industrial machines, but also in individual medical protection teams (surgical masks, gloves, etc.) and more widely in several medical equipment (syringes, medications, saddle armchairs, hospitals, diagnostic devices, insulins, auditory devices, etc.). A first step towards new customs taxes.
The objective of this survey is to determine whether these imports have a risk to national security, such as surveys previously released in wind turbine imports, airplanes, semiconductors, copper, etc.
More specifically, the survey plans to ask US manufacturers an estimate of the demand they will face to see if they can meet national needs instead of the main foreign exporters such as China. In this sense, American companies are also invited to describe “the impact of foreign governments and predatory commercial practices.”
The EU exempt in case of new customs tasks?
The survey results can be used to justify the implementation of new customs tasks to encourage the national production of these products that are considered essential. These surcharges would be added to specific customs tasks already applied to dozens of countries around the world. However, the European Union and Japan could be exempt thanks to the trade agreements concluded with the United States.
Experts throughout the Atlantic warn against the establishment of new customs tasks in medical products that could increase costs for hospitals and patients and penalize their supply.
“Managers of the Medical Technology Supply Chain are already informing problems, and we cannot afford to increase the cost of medical care for patients, or for the health system,” said CNBC Scott Whitaker, CEO Advarted, the professional association that represents technology manufacturers and medical devices.
Source: BFM TV
