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    U.S. expands tariff dragnet to masks, syringes and robotics in sweeping import probe

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    The Trump administration has launched national security investigations into imports of robotics, industrial machinery and medical devices, a move that could pave the way for fresh tariffs.
    The investigations also targeted imported medical equipment like wheelchairs, hospital beds and devices used in medical diagnosis and treatment like pacemakers.
    The Trump administration has already used the “Section 232” law to impose levies on automobiles and parts, copper, steel and aluminum.

    A Fanuc robotic arm moves bins of products during a media tour of the Amazon.com Inc. DAB2 fulfillment center in Daytona Beach, Florida, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. The DAB2 fulfillment center is Amazon’s seventh robotics fulfillment center in Florida. Photographer: Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Bloomberg via Getty Images
    Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    The Trump administration has launched national security investigations into imports of robotics, industrial machinery and medical devices, a move that could pave the way for fresh tariffs and raise costs for consumers, hospitals and manufacturers.
    The Department of Commerce said Wednesday that the probes, opened Sept. 2 under the “Section 232” of the Trade Expansion Act, will assess whether such imports threaten U.S. national security, according to Federal Register filings.

    The latest probes expand the list of items that could be exposed to higher tariffs to include personal protective equipment such as surgical masks, N95 respirators, gloves and other medical consumables, including syringes, needles and prescription drugs.
    They also extend to imported medical equipment such as wheelchairs, hospital beds and diagnostic and treatment devices like pacemakers, insulin pumps and heart valves.
    The probes could be used as justification for fresh sectoral tariffs aimed at boosting domestic production of goods deemed critical to national security.
    The department is seeking comments from companies on their projected demand for these products and whether domestic production can meet local demand and the role of foreign supply chains.
    Firms are also invited to outline the impact of foreign subsidies and what the administration described as “predatory trade practices.”

    The Trump administration has previously invoked Section 232 to impose levies on automobiles and parts, copper, steel and aluminum.
    Investigations into imports of pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and chip components such as silicon wafers, chipmaking equipment and related downstream products are also ongoing, reflecting Washington’s concerns over reliance on overseas supply chains.
    Any new duties resulting from the sector-specific probes would be stacked on top of U.S. President Doanld Trump’s country-specific tariffs, though the European Union and Japan have reached agreements that could shield them from extra levies.
    The U.S. depends heavily on Mexico and China for machinery, with imports from the two countries accounting for more than 18% and 17% of total U.S. machinery purchases in 2023, according to data from the U.S. International Trade Commission.
    The auto industry could be among the hardest hit by the latest potential tariffs, as it accounted for the largest demand for industrial robots — 13,747 installations last year, according to the International Federation of Robotics. Most of those robots were imported, with few manufacturers producing in the U.S., the group said.
    The potential levies on medical devices and protective gear could increase costs for hospitals and patients, reducing access to critical equipment and care, experts have warned.

    Culver City, CA – September 23: Detail of vials and syringe containing a COVID-19 vaccination by Pfizer at Kaiser Permanente Venice Medical Office Building in Culver City Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. Details of vials, syringes as well as vaccinations.
    Allen J. Schaben | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

    “MedTech supply chain leaders are already reporting supply chain concerns, and we cannot afford to drive up the cost of health care for patients, or on the health care system,” said Scott Whitaker, CEO of AdvaMed, the trade group that represents medical technology and device makers. “The reality is, any increased costs will be largely borne by taxpayer-funded health programs like Medicare, Medicaid and the [Veterans Health Administration].”
    Hospital trade groups have also been sounding the alarm this year, warning that higher tariffs could hurt the quality of care.
    Rick Pollack, the CEO of the American Hospital Association, said in April that “disruptions in the availability of these critical devices — many of which are sourced internationally — have the potential to disrupt patient care.”
    — CNBC’s Bertha Coombs contributed to this report. More

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    in Economy

    U.S. Latino immigrants generate $1.6 trillion in GDP, report says

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    U.S. Latino immigrants accounted for $1.6 trillion in GDP in 2023, according to a new research report by the Latino Donor Collaborative.
    Businesses that recognize the potential of the cohort and adapt their strategy to court Latino customers often see dramatic growth.
    Mass deportations of undocumented workers could cause GDP to decline by $2.3 trillion, or 7.7%, in 2025 dollars.

    People seen holding Puerto Rican flag during the annual Puerto Rican Day Parade on 5th Avenue in New York City.
    Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

    U.S. Latino immigrants accounted for $1.6 trillion in GDP in 2023, according to a new research report by the Latino Donor Collaborative, contributing to an overall purchasing power for U.S. Latinos of $4.1 trillion. The 2023 data is the most recent year included in the study.
    U.S. Latino GDP, measuring the economic impact of the cohort, was up 50% in 2023 from 2015, boosted by increasing education, entrepreneurship and labor force participation, said economists with Arizona State University, who conducted the research. For comparison, the estimated GDP of non-Latinos in the U.S. grew by 17% over the same time frame.

    The report comes as the Trump administration is charging ahead with an unprecedented effort to remove undocumented immigrants from the U.S.
    California’s economy alone saw $989 billion of Latino GDP in 2023 and is projected to surpass a trillion dollars in 2025, according to the report. Texas, Florida and New York each also have Latino GDPs worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
    And Latino spending is making up a larger share of the overall economy.
    As baby boomers age, their share of spending declines by about 4% annually, according to the report, and U.S. Latinos are poised to fill the spending gap. Their share of U.S. consumption is growing by more than 3% annually. Actual consumer spending is up nearly 5% annually compared with 2.4% for non-Latinos, driven by population changes and rise in disposable income.
    “It’s very clear — if there’s a silver bullet for the economy beyond AI, it’s the Latino consumer. They are workers, entrepreneurs and consumers, driving significant growth across sectors in the American economy, ” said Sol Trujillo, co-founder of the Latino Donor Collaborative and chairman of the Trujillo Group.

    “The velocity of the rise of brands that are marketing to us Latinos as their mainstream customers should be a wake-up call to every CEO and CMO, ” said Beatriz Ace vedo, CEO and co-founder of Suma Wealth on stage Wednesday at Velocity, an economic conference in Los Angeles where the Latino GDP report was presented.
    Acevedo highlighted companies that have seen their growth accelerate along with their share of American Latino customers:

    Modelo in 2023 overtook Budweiser to become America’s No. 1 selling beer brand by capturing 50% of the Latino consumer market in the U.S. (Modelo just this week lost that crown to Michelob Ultra.)
    T-Mobile leveraged the growth of its Latino market share to leap frog AT&T and Verizon to become No. 1 in subscriber growth.
    Dr. Pepper surged passed Pepsi to capture the second spot in soda behind Coke by doubling its Latino consumer share over the past decade.
    The WNBA dramatically grew its U.S. Latino viewership on television and subsequently saw the most viewer growth of all professional sports.
    Kia went from No. 6 in new car sales to No. 11 after a 44.5% increase in Hispanic market sales over the last 5 years.

    But mass deportations could undermine the business opportunities and derail that economic progress, experts said at Velocity.
    Dennis Hoffman, ASU economics professor and the lead author of the U.S. Latino GDP report, warned deporting as many as 8.3 million undocumented workers could lead to losses of more than 19.5 million workers because of the lost revenue and economic activity provided by undocumented workers.
    “We need to fix our immigration system. I’m not suggesting open borders. I’m not suggesting we allow people to work persistently without papers. But our system is fixable,” Hoffman said. “We can sponsor productive, hardworking, undocumented workers and not suffer the pain that we would have to incur if if we actually did something like this [mass deportations].”
    Hoffman said his simulation predicts total GDP could decline by $2.3 trillion or $7.7%. More

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    in Economy

    US support is only a temporary fix for Argentina

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