Diabetes Action Canada: Trade Tariffs affect patients directly

Adapted from BMJ 25 October 2025

Linxi Mytkolli, Director of patient engagement Diabetes Action Canada.

Every 10 days I insert a glucose sensor into my skin. Every three days I change the site for my insulin pump. These US made devices are how I manage my diabetes and how I stay alive. But they are not exempt from broad trade tariffs, and like many other essential medical technologies, they are now caught in an increasingly fragile global supply chain.

Lives are being placed at risk by decisions made far from the people that they affect. Steel tariffs delay infusion set manufacture, aluminium cost affect the provision of mobility aids and electronics affect hearing aids.

Steel based infusion sets are now unavailable in many countries. Without them, insulin can’t be delivered via pump systems. And it’s not just diabetes. Wheelchairs and prosthetics rely on specialised components that are affected by tariffs and restricted supply. These tools are necessities.

Trade discussions tend to focus on gross domestic product, national competitiveness and domestic manufacturing jobs, but health outcomes for people who depend on imported medical technologies also matter.

The US has increased tariffs on steel and aluminium exports to 50%. These tariffs can trigger global supply shortages and higher prices. There is no clear mechanism to protect the people who rely on medical devices that are affected.

Trade and procurement officials must actively engage with people with disabilities and patient organisations to identify essential devices and ensure that they are protected from tariffs and other restrictive policies.

Health ministries need to report and act on medical device shortages with the same urgency that they give to drug shortages.

Over one billion people worldwide live with disabilities and long term conditions. Medical device access isn’t just a logistics problem, for many it is a matter of survival.