Just as Bisazza was speaking to Medtech Insight, the association issued an open letter to European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, alongside that of six other trade associations in the medtech area, calling for an urgent dialog with the sector on the tariff issue.

In this letter, the associations state: “Our industry … urges you in the strongest possible terms to protect public health, by promoting an extension of the zero-for-zero proposal to all medical technologies, and to the essential components needed to produce them.”

It points out that tariffs increase production and distribution costs and that most medical technologies reach hospitals, laboratories or other health institutions, via multi-year agreements with minimal price flexibility.

Since it is not easy for manufacturers to mitigate price increases – and particularly not for SMEs – increased operating costs from tariffs “could easily result in closures,” it warns, “the ceding of innovation to foreign competitors and, ultimately, decreased availability of medical solutions for patients, healthcare professionals and health systems.”

It also emphasized that Europe's medical technology sector already faces shortages, innovation drain, and SME closures due to challenges with the implementation of the MDR and IVDR.

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