U.S. scrutiny of China’s trade practices, especially in the biotech sector, continues to escalate as the U.S. International Trade Commission launches two factfinding investigations Congress mandated in the fiscal 2026 appropriations.
U.S. scrutiny of China’s trade practices, especially in the biotech sector, continues to escalate as the U.S. International Trade Commission launches two factfinding investigations Congress mandated in the fiscal 2026 appropriations.
This year, European med-tech companies continue to navigate an uncertain macro environment created by the reciprocal tariffs on goods entering the U.S., their primary market. Some companies though are adapting supply chains and manufacturing strategies, while others are looking to diversify into other regions. Their technologies after all, address clinical needs, so the sector continues to innovate, conduct trials, present data, raise funds, and deliver products which improve patients’ lives.
The ramifications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Feb. 20 that shot down President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act are rippling across the world. And Trump’s immediate response to that ruling – a proclamation imposing a temporary 10% import duty on most goods brought into the country beginning Feb. 24 – isn’t helping.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s foreign-imports tariff policies did not hold up well at the Supreme Court, which ruled unconstitutional his edicts under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The sharply worded 6-3 opinion was authored by Chief Justice John Roberts.
The U.S. FDA’s final rule for regulation of lab-developed tests is now a part of regulatory litigation history, but Scott Whitaker, CEO and president of the Advanced Medical Technology Association, said that while Congress is still considering LDT legislation, any new legislation may differ substantially from previous bills.
And another firm has reached a most-favored nation (MFN) pricing deal with the White House. Johnson & Johnson announced Jan. 8 a voluntary agreement with the Trump administration aimed at improving access and lowering prices for medications in the U.S., in exchange for exempting the pharma firm’s products from tariffs.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, China will apply provisional import tariff rates lower than the most-favored-nation rates on 935 items, the State Council announced. The move aims to boost collaboration between domestic and international sectors, and to leverage resources of both to expand the supply of high-quality goods.
If the 2025 U.S. life sciences regulatory scene were to be summed up in one word, it would have to be uncertainty. Two words might be more definitive – chaotic uncertainty.
U.S. policy, China’s strategic rise, blockbuster deals and AI dominated South Korea’s biotechnology industry this year, with U.S. tariffs and the Biosecure Act’s hitch onto 2026 legislation serving as major topics of speculation.
