The second most important source was the European Union, accounting for 18% of total imports.Ĭountries in the European Union are in the midst of fighting COVID-19, thus likely preventing the US from relying on this source to boost its imports of medical goods. The main source of these goods was China, which supplied about 28% of those products. In 2018, the US imported over $29 billion in medical equipment. Source: UN COMTRADE Primary foreign suppliers of US medical equipment These products include protective medical equipment-such as sterile gloves, medical protective clothing, protective goggles and masks-as well as equipment needed to treat infected patients such as ventilators, oxygen masks and breathing masks. Table 1 reports the list of medical product codes that we focus on, and their description. We start by collecting data on US imports and exports of medical products needed to treat COVID-19 from UN COMTRADE for years 2012 to 2018.1 Each product is reported as a six-digit code using the Harmonized System (HS) classification of 2012. US dependence on foreign medical equipment This suggests that the US might need to urgently design policies to boost its production of these goods. We document that the US relies heavily on other countries also affected by COVID-19 to fulfil its supply of key medical equipment required to combat the pandemic. Relying on other countries for the supply of these goods might be good, insofar as the US can purchase them in large amounts, but it may be a problem when these countries are also currently affected by COVID-19 and thus without excess capacity to produce and ship these goods. In this article, we study the extent to which the US typically relies on other countries to supply its demand for these critical medical goods. As a result, the US urgently needs to increase its supply of such key medical equipment to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the increasing number of COVID-19 patients requiring intensive care has significantly increased the demand for respirators and other equipment used to treat infected patients in critical conditions. The surge in the number of infections that require hospitalisation is leading to an excess demand for protective personal equipment-such as masks, gowns and gloves-necessary to protect medical personnel from contagion. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is leading to a massive shortage of key medical equipment in the US. Rely on Other Countries for Essential Medical Equipment? Louis Fed’s On the Economy blog: How Much Does the U.S. This column originally appeared April 8 on the St.
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