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Taxpayers Warn New Medical Tariffs Would Weaken U.S. National Security and Drive Up Health Care Costs

National Taxpayers Union (NTU) is urging the Department of Commerce to reject new broad-based tariffs or quotas that would increase prices for medical supplies in the United States.

In formal comments submitted to the agency on October 17, NTU warned that imposing new tariffs would have the opposite of their intended effect by undermining U.S. national security, increasing health care costs, and slowing U.S. economic growth. 

“Increased costs would be passed along to patients either directly or through increased health insurance premiums,” said Bryan Riley, Director of the Free Trade Initiative and author of the comments. “Tariff costs would also hit U.S. taxpayers by driving up costs to the federal government, which spent more than $1.7 trillion on health care in fiscal year 2025.”

According to an analysis cited by NTU, tariffs on medical goods could add as much as $63 billion in annual costs across the health care sector, compounding existing financial pressures on hospitals and federal health programs.

Additionally, new and excessive trade restrictions will backfire on national defense preparedness. The Senate Committee on Armed Services’ recent defense authorization report emphasized that defense-related acquisitions “should remain exempt from any tariffs or trade restrictions.”

“Since the Defense Department depends on certain foreign materials that simply aren’t available in sufficient supply here at home, it’s critical to preserve existing exemptions and make sure future trade actions don’t slow down defense procurement or put national security at risk,” Riley said. 

The conflict over the Commerce Department’s proposed actions comes as lawmakers and industry experts debate whether protectionist policies are necessary to secure U.S. supply chains. NTU counters that, removing barriers, not adding them, will make America more resilient in future crises.

“The pandemic proved that open trade helps Americans get the supplies quickly and affordably,” Riley said. “Policies that empower consumers, encourage innovation, and expand choice make us safer than policies that tax the very tools doctors and nurses rely on.”