Commerce Announces Broad Section 232 Investigation on Medical Goods
The Commerce Department revealed it started an investigation three weeks ago on the import of and supply chains for personal protective equipment, medical consumables, medical equipment and medical devices.
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These items range from low-tech, cheap goods like IV bags, gauze, needles and paper gowns, to not-cheap but low-tech goods such as wheelchairs and hospital beds, to technology such as insulin pumps, pacemakers, ventilators, MRI machines, cat scan machines and the like.
The investigation is to determine if the import of these goods, or components of these goods, is a threat to national security, as described under Section 232, Commerce said in a Federal Register notice scheduled to be published Sept. 26. Comments are due Oct. 17.
The department said it particularly would like information on these topics:
- Domestic demand for PPE, medical consumables, durable medical equipment and medical devices, as well as projected demand
- How much domestic production there is of these items
- Which countries and companies supply the goods, and whether there is a small number of countries or countries that supply them
- The impact of predatory trade practices on domestic producers of the goods
- The impact of artificially suppressed prices of the goods "due to foreign unfair trade practices and state-sponsored overproduction"
- Could foreign nations weaponize their control of these supplies or supply chains for them
- Whether tariffs or quotas are necessary to protect national security.