Trade groups call for exemption of dietary supplement ingredients from potential pharmaceutical tariffs

Image | adobe.stock/Александр Марченко

Trade groups representing the dietary supplement industry have submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Commerce as part of the Section 232 National Security Investigation of Imports of Pharmaceuticals and Pharmaceutical Ingredients request for public comments. According to the Federal Register, the Secretary of Commerce “initiated an investigation to determine the effects on the national security of imports of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients, including finished drug products, medical countermeasures, critical inputs such as active pharmaceutical ingredients, and key starting materials, and derivative products of those items.”

In its comments, The Global Organization of EPA and DHA Omega-3s (GOED) brought attention to two tariff codes associated with EPA/DHA-rich oil ingredients that were included in Annex II of the April 2 Executive Order issuing reciprocal tariffs, and asked that the Department of Commerce not inadvertently include them in the 232 investigation since they are also associated with the production of pharmaceuticals. These codes include HTSUS 2915.90.10 (Fatty acids of animal or vegetable origin) and 2916.19.30 (Unsaturated acyclic monocarboxylic acids).

GOED also asked that the administration extend the list of exemptions to include a number of other HTSUS codes associated with EPA and DHA ingredients, which include:

1504.10.20

1504.10.40

1504.20.20

1504.20.40

1504.20.60

1506.00.00

1515.60.05

1515.90.81

1516.10.00

1516.30.00

1517.90.20

1517.90.90

1518.00.40

1603.00.90

2106.90.92

2106.90.99

2916.19.50

3824.99.41

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN; Washington, D.C.) also filed comments reminding officials that while pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements may share tariff codes, they serve different purposes and operate in distinct markets. The organization wrote, “Many dietary supplement ingredients, including vitamins and minerals, are classified under HTSUS Chapters 29 (Organic Chemicals) and 30 (Pharmaceutical Products)—the same headings used for pharmaceuticals and for pharmaceutical ingredients. Historically, certain dietary supplement ingredients such as vitamins and minerals have been captured under these tariff codes, so many dietary supplement ingredients are also included in Annex II of the recent Executive Order on reciprocal tariffs.”

CRN emphasized that while a majority of the ingredients are sourced globally, most dietary supplement finished products sold in the U.S. are manufactured, packaged, and labeled in the U.S. This is also true for dietary supplement manufactured for export. “The North American market is twice as large as the next region and this in turn is due to the early development of the dietary supplement industry in the United States and the favorable manufacturing requirements imposed by the Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act of 1994 (“DSHEA”), as well as consumer sentiment that drives demand for U.S.-made products,” wrote CRN. “However, finished product manufacturing could move offshore depending on the impact of tariffs.”

The risk of imposing Section 232 tariffs on dietary ingredients, said CRN, include product shortages, price increases, increased risk of adulteration, and the offshoring of U.S. finished product manufacturing.

The Natural Products Association (NPA; Washington, D.C.) in its comments praised the department of commerce for exempting key ingredients such as vitamin A, C, and CoQ10, and asked for the exclusion of specific HTUS codes from the Section 232 investigation as well as the expansion of exemptions to include all essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and botanical extracts.