Ireland must support its medical technologies sector in unprecedented times

Irish Medtech, the Ibec group representing the Ireland’s medical technologies sector, has called on the Irish Government to support the medical technologies sector through unprecedented export turbulence. The group has said that despite Irish medtech exporters being subjected to US tariffs for the export of medical technologies to the US, the EU must avoid applying reciprocal tariffs to US imports of medical technologies to Europe.

According to Irish Medtech Director, Eoghan Ó Faoláin “The medtech industry globally has saved millions of lives and improved the quality of life for millions more around the world. The tariffs announced last week by the US administration were highly regrettable and a trade policy to include specific carve-outs or exemptions for medical technologies was not adopted. This will undoubtedly result in higher prices for US consumers, hospitals, healthcare systems, and patients”.

He continued “As one of the top 5 medtech hubs globally, we are proud of the part Ireland plays in the development and production of these critical lifesaving technologies. Ireland currently exports more than 40% of medtech exports (around €8 billion) to the US. The imposition of tariffs we now find ourselves subject to, will undoubtedly have an impact on Irish medtech manufacturers and specialist sub-suppliers exporting to the US - of which there are many”.

While Irish and European medtech producers’ asses the scale of the undisputable damage imposed by these tariffs, the Irish government and EU institutions must now carefully consider how to respond.

“Firstly, at this critical juncture, it’s incredibly important that medical technologies are excluded from any reciprocal EU tariffs and that Europe doesn’t replicate the missteps on the other side of the Atlantic. Not only would it add to the costs of healthcare in Europe and further disrupt complex global supply chains for European manufacturers, additionally, reciprocal import tariffs would certainly jeopardise any potential future medtech carve-outs for from the US tariffs.

Secondly, with over 48,000 people directly employed in medtech here in Ireland, it’s essential that the Irish government stands ready to step-in with immediate emergency employee and business continuity supports to those companies particularly impacted by a sudden deterioration in their trading conditions or trading volumes with the US resulting from these tariffs”.

“Increasing the cost of the healthcare for citizens has an immediate humanitarian impact. In the best-case scenario, similarly to an excise tax, tariffs on healthcare result in higher prices for hospitals, healthcare systems, patients and consumers. It will lead to reductions in new product innovation, which in time will result in fewer choices of available treatment for patients.

In the worst-case scenario, tariffs (or indeed retaliatory tariffs) on medtech, in-vitro diagnostics, and inputs for these products (for example raw materials, accessories, spare parts, components) will negatively impact multinational supply chains, and shortages of some critical medical technologies could result”.

He concluded “While damage has undoubtedly been caused, these risks can be avoided if medical technologies are exempted from such tariffs, both in the US and in Europe. We’re calling on the Irish government to intervene as a matter of urgency to protect this significant sector of the Irish economy”.