An AdvaMed–Swiss Medtech announcement is just the latest example of AdvaMed’s strategy of working with fellow medtech trade associations at top trade partners to shield the medical device industry from global trade wars.
AdvaMed and Swiss Medtech today called for zero-for-zero tariffs and regulatory convergence between the U.S. and Switzerland. The joint statement comes more than a week after a similar announcement from AdvaMed and the Association of British HealthTech Industries. AdvaMed officials hope to issue similar announcements in the coming weeks as they work with other top U.S. trading partners and their countries’ medtech associations.
Overall, AdvaMed has been asserting that medtech deserves tariff exemptions in trade negotiations.
“To be clear, we applaud the president’s efforts to bring more manufacturing back the United States and fix some of the existing trade imbalances, but the reality is, up to 70% of medtech used in America is already made in America, supporting 3 million jobs across this country, and that’s growing every day. The U.S. is the largest med tech market in the world, accounting for 40% of global sales, and it’s unquestionably the global leader in innovation. If there’s a breakthrough in medical technology, chances are it was developed right here. Tariff policy, if deployed in the wrong way, could put all of that at risk,” AdvaMed CEO Scott Whitaker told the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on May 14.
AdvaMed and Swiss Medtech echoed similar sentiments in their joint statement: “Recent trade tensions and the threat of tariffs are posing a serious threat to our respective health technology industries and to the health systems, health care professionals, and patients who depend on us to ensure timely access to treatment.”
The groups reported that medical technology supply chain leaders say procurement timelines have already slipped within the first week of the new global tariffs, especially for surgical kits, diagnostic components, and imaging devices.
According to Swiss Medtech, Switzerland has the eighth-largest medical device market in Europe. The industry employs 71,700 people in the country, mostly in small and medium-sized companies.
The U.S. medtech industry is the world’s largest.
In addition to zero medtech tariffs between the U.S. and Switzerland, AdvaMed and Swiss Medtech would like to see Switzerland consider regulatory approvals and clearances from the FDA. AdvaMed’s statement with the Association of British HealthTech Industries included a similar regulatory proposal.
Advamed welcomes a U.S. pause on some tariffs in early April that reduced turmoil in financial markets. Still, major U.S. medtech companies have been reporting in their earnings reports that the tariffs will cost them this year: up to $300, million for Cardinal Health, $200 million for Stryker, $200 million for Boston Scientific, and a few hundred million dollars on a half-year basis for Abbott
