Medtechs still wrestling with tariffs
A year into recent trade shifts, medtech companies report ongoing tariff pressures that are forcing cost-management moves across the sector and reshaping sourcing decisions. That continued sensitivity suggests healthcare buyers may remain cost-conscious even when they need new infrastructure or software. (medtechdive.com)
A hospital scanner is not built in one country anymore. A single imaging machine can pull magnets, detectors, circuit boards, and software from several borders, so a tariff can hit the same product more than once before it reaches a patient. (medtechdive.com) That is why medtech companies are still talking about tariffs a year after the latest trade shift. MedTech Dive reported on April 9, 2026 that companies across the sector are still making cost cuts and sourcing changes instead of treating the issue as a short-lived shock. (medtechdive.com) The industry’s main trade group asked for an exemption almost immediately. On April 2, 2025, AdvaMed said broad tariffs would work like an excise tax on medical technology and would raise costs across the healthcare system. (advamed.org) A few days later, AdvaMed and nine other healthcare groups warned that tariffs on devices and supplies could disrupt the supply chain and lengthen patient wait times. The same April 7, 2025 letter cited a survey in which 80% of supply-chain and industry respondents expected import costs to push hospital and health-system costs up by at least 15% in the next few months. (medicaldesignandoutsourcing.com) The biggest companies then started putting dollar figures on the problem. GE HealthCare said tariffs cut 2025 earnings by $245 million, including about $100 million in the fourth quarter alone. (medtechdive.com) GE HealthCare’s fix was not one big factory move but a series of smaller reroutes. Chief Financial Officer James Saccaro said the company shifted a line of positron emission tomography and computed tomography scanners from the Middle East to the United States, moved a surgery line from Asia to the United States, and used more duty-free channels under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. (medtechdive.com) Medtronic gave investors a similar warning from a different angle. In May 2025, the company said fiscal 2026 could take a net tariff hit of $200 million to $350 million, with the burden building through the year as earlier inventory buffers ran out. (mddionline.com) Not every company is getting hit the same way. Boston Scientific reported $20.074 billion in 2025 sales and nearly 20% reported growth, which shows that strong product demand can outrun tariff pressure for some firms even while the rest of the sector keeps reworking supply chains. (news.bostonscientific.com) The next problem is uncertainty, not just cost. GE HealthCare said in February 2026 that no new medtech levies had been announced under the Section 232 national security investigation into medical equipment, but the possibility was still hanging over planning decisions. (medtechdive.com) That leaves hospitals and clinics buying from suppliers who are still redesigning where parts come from, where products are assembled, and which contracts can absorb higher import costs. In a business where a scanner room or lab upgrade already costs millions, even a smaller tariff line can be enough to delay a purchase by another budget cycle. (medtechdive.com)
