Medtech Canada Seeks Zero-for-Zero Tariffs After US 50% Duties Reach Medical Technologies

Medtech Canada called on Tuesday for tariffs on medical technologies to be removed in both directions across the Canada-US border, after new 50 per cent US duties reached the sector on October 30. In a statement, the national trade association said it "is very concerned that medical technologies, diagnostics and laboratory products are among the Canadian goods now subject to new 50 per cent U.S. tariffs under Section 338."

The association said the tariffs "capture a significant share of Canada's medical technology exports to the United States" and include products used by hospitals, laboratories and health care providers. It did not put a dollar figure on the goods affected.

What changed on October 30

The US duties are not new, but their reach is. According to a client advisory from the logistics company C.H. Robinson, the 50 per cent additional duties under Proclamation 11048 were announced on July 20 and took effect on August 22.

The advisory says a proclamation issued on October 23 modified the product list, adding approximately 100 tariff provisions and removing 22, for goods entered on or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern on October 30. It lists "medical/scientific equipment" within one of the groups of added products, alongside appliances, machinery, tools and valves, and places laboratory reagents in another. It also says the additional duties apply on top of any Section 232 duties.

Which specific devices are covered depends on the tariff codes in the proclamation's annex. Neither the association's statement nor the advisory breaks out the medical products by code.

The association's argument

"Medical technologies should not be caught in the crossfire of a trade dispute," Nicole DeKort, president and CEO of Medtech Canada, said in the statement. She said a 50 per cent tariff on products used to diagnose and treat patients "risks increasing costs for U.S. hospitals and laboratories, disrupting supply chains and ultimately impacting patient care."

The association described the two countries' supply chains as deeply integrated, with components, sub-assemblies and finished products moving across the border. It said many medical technologies are specialized and regulated and "cannot simply be replaced without clinical evaluation, validation or training."

Medtech Canada gave these trade figures for 2024: Canada imported approximately C$5.9 billion in medical devices from the United States and exported approximately C$4.1 billion to it. The association said the United States is Canada's largest supplier of medical devices by far.

What the group is asking for

Medtech Canada said it supports the Global Medical Technology Alliance's call for reciprocal zero-for-zero tariffs on medical technologies, and that the best outcome is "zero tariffs on medical technologies in both directions."

The association also noted that Canada has taken steps to shield health care from its own counter-tariffs, including tariff remission for goods used in the provision of medically necessary health care. It said it will keep working with the Government of Canada and other partners on patient access and supply chains.

The statement did not report any response from the US government, and it did not say whether any talks on a medical technology exemption are under way.