Medical Equipment Distributors NAICS 423450

Nov 4, 2025 - Tariff Dispute Reaches US Supreme Court

• The US Supreme Court is hearing arguments on whether tariffs imposed by the Trump administration are legal. Medical equipment distributors are likely to benefit if the cost of goods imported from countries that were hit with tariffs decrease. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled earlier that President Trump overstepped his authority when he declared national emergencies to justify tariffs on many countries. The Trump administration can use other laws to impose duties on goods from other countries if the tariffs are ruled illegal. The administration will most likely rely on Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act to recreate Trump's tariffs, experts told Business Insider. Section 301 allows the US to place tariffs on goods from countries if they "either violated international trade law or otherwise acted unfairly," according to Rachel Brewster, a professor of international trade at Duke Law School. The law includes provisions that allow the president to form trade deals with other countries to resolve the unfair trade practices, so the deals Trump already struck could likely be "folded into" Section 301, Brewster said. Section 232 allows the president to impose tariffs on goods determined to be a national security threat. Trump has already applied it to goods ranging from aluminum to bathroom vanities, according to Business Insider.
• Medical device manufactures are beginning to consider measures needed to protect medical data and connected devices from quantum-enabled security threats, according to Medical Design and Outsourcing. Distributors who service and/or provide support for the devices that they sell may need to prepare for the changes. Today’s cryptography is considered secure because it would take a very long time for traditional binary computers to solve the complex mathematical equations used to encrypt information. The processing power of nascent quantum computers will perform these operations much faster to break current cryptography. The device industry has long development cycles due in part to strong regulatory oversight, so the transition to quantum-resistant post-quantum cryptography (PQC) must start now, according to Medical Design and Outsourcing. This means devices developed today should be PQC-ready by implementing approved post-quantum algorithms or by providing crypto-agility and allowing for future upgrades.

• A significant proportion of essential medical goods come from international sources despite efforts to bolster the domestic supply chain, according to the American Hospital Association (AHA). Nearly 70% of medical devices marketed in the US are manufactured exclusively overseas. In 2024 alone, the US imported over $75 billion in medical devices and supplies, according to an AHA analysis of Census Bureau data. These imports include many low margin, high-use essentials in hospital settings — such as syringes, needles, blood pressure cuffs, and IV saline bags. Hospitals also rely on imports for advanced surgical tools and other critical technologies.
• Medical equipment distributor industry employment increased slightly and average wages for nonsupervisory employees increased moderately during the first seven months of 2025, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Professional and commercial equipment distributor sales are forecast to grow at a 3.99% compounded annual rate from 2025 to 2029, slower than the growth of the overall economy, according to the Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund.