Dental Trade Alliance, ADA Call on Congress to Suspend Tariffs on Essential Products During the Pandemic

The two organization are asking Congress to support a 90-day tariff suspension on products deemed essential to helping stop the spread of COVID-19. 

The Dental Trade Alliance and the American Dental Association (ADA) are asking Congress to support a 90-day tariff suspension on products deemed essential to helping stop the spread of COVID-19. 

Following a review of a May 4 report from the U.S. International Trade Commission on imported medical supplies, the two organizations urged the House and Senate in a June 5 letter to consider suspending tariffs on products needed to respond to the current pandemic. 

“The current patchwork of tariffs on these products is counterproductive at this critical time and is adding unnecessary cost and confusion for manufacturers, distributors and consumers,” they wrote. 

In the letter, the Dental Trade Alliance and the ADA also voiced their support for a “bipartisan call for increasing domestic production of these goods in an effort to help resolve the persistent shortages of supplies, equipment and medicines the United States needs to successfully combat the pandemic and save lives.”