Kickstart: Tariffs target China-made syringes, PPE

A new round of tariffs on products made in China could provide incentive for more medical manufacturing in the U.S.

President Joe Biden's administration released an extensive list of items that will receive new or increased tariffs. Electric vehicles made the biggest headlines, with tariffs increasing to 100 percent for China-made EVs from the current rate of 25 percent.

But the list also covers some medical products that are key users of plastics. The White House noted in a news release that tariff rates for syringes and needles will increase from 0 to 50 percent in 2024. "Certain" personal protective equipment, such as masks and respirators, will see tariff rates growing from a range of 0 to 7.5 percent up to 25 percent. Tariffs for medical and surgical gloves will rise to 25 percent in 2026 from 7.5 percent.

"These tariff rate increases will help support and sustain a strong domestic industrial base for medical supplies that were essential to the COVID-19 pandemic response and continue to be used daily in every hospital across the country to deliver essential care," the White House noted.

The tariffs would boost a medical industry that has grown consistently even as other end markets struggle. Since 2020, the output of the U.S. medical equipment and supplies has increased 5 percent each year, Plastics News Economics Editor Bill Wood writes in a new Numbers That Matter column.

The use of imported plastic syringes also has been the focus of recent scrutiny. In late April, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration warned Cardinal Health to stop using plastic syringes made by China-based Jiangsu Shenli Medical Production Co. Ltd.

Medical molders, including Becton Dickinson & Co. and Germany's Schott Pharma AG & Co., have recently announced plans to expand syringe production in the U.S.

A lot has changed for Sonoco Products Co. in the last 125 years, beginning with its name.

The packaging specialist was known mostly as Southern Novelty Co. after its founding in 1899 in Hartsville, S.C. In 1923, as it expanded outside its regional home, CEO Charles W. Coker decided to take the first two letters of each word to create a name that could grow with the company, Sonoco notes on its website in a celebration of its anniversary.

Sonoco has also, obviously, grown well beyond paper. It is the fifth-largest thermoformer in North America, according to Plastics News ranking data, with $700 million in sales in the region. It comes in at No. 45 among North American film and sheet makers with $666 million in sales and is No. 71 among injection molders with $140 million in sales.

We're halfway through May, and it looks like we can declare that this will be a year without a "spring surge" in resin buying.

In a Q&A with PN's Frank Esposito, Resin Technology Inc.'s Michael Workman says that outside of a few niche markets, purchasing has been subdued. Both polyethylene and polypropylene are running 10 percent below demand and operating rates.

"Nevertheless, there was some hope that the spring surge in orders would be delayed and could still arrive, even if at a lower magnitude than in prior years," he said. But with inflation and interest rates still up, he now expects processors to continue to limit purchases.

You can catch the full discussion here.