In April, the U.S. Department of Commerce began an investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to determine the effects on the national security of imports of pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical ingredients and derivative products. After the investigation is complete, President Donald Trump will decide what action to take which could include tariffs.
In May, several natural products industry trade associations submitted statements to the Department of Commerce requesting dietary supplements be exempt from the investigation.
The Natural Products Association (NPA) applauded the exemptions of key ingredients such as vitamins A, C and CoQ10 from the Liberation Day tariffs, but urged for continued and expanded exemption of dietary supplement ingredients from the Section 232 tariffs.
“Unlike pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements are regulated as food under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). They play no role in manufacturing or distributing finished drug products, medical countermeasures, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), or related derivatives, which are the focus of Section 232’s national security inquiry. Supplements are subject to mandatory recalls for safety concerns, ensuring robust oversight without implicating the strategic risks associated with pharmaceuticals. Excluding our industry from this inquiry aligns with the FFDCA’s framework and the Department’s intent to address pharmaceutical supply chain vulnerabilities,” NPA wrote.
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) warns the possible tariffs would harm jobs, public health and consumer access. In its statement, CRN reminded federal officials that “dietary supplements are not pharmaceuticals.”
“CRN respectfully urges the Department to protect the U.S. dietary supplement industry’s role in supporting the health, jobs, and economy for Americans,” the association wrote. “CRN recommends the Department recognize the differences between pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements and expressly exclude dietary supplements and their ingredients from this Section 232 investigation.”
“Consumers depend on affordable, high-quality supplements to maintain their health, and U.S. manufacturers depend on stable ingredient supply chains to deliver those products. Tariffs designed to protect national security should not limit access to dietary supplements, thereby endangering American jobs and public health,” added Steve Mister, president and CEO of CRN.
In its statement, the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) focused on common and essential dietary ingredients found in Annex II to Executive Order 14257, which exempts certain commodities defined under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule.
AHPA said these ingredients, such as vitamins and amino acids, play a vital role in the formulation of dietary supplements alongside use for pharmaceutical, animal feed, conventional food and personal care products. The association discourages Section 232 controls on these products and emphasized the “challenges, hardships and limitations of possible domestic manufacturing.”
“This is all stick and no carrot for commodities that require tremendous infrastructure to be viably produced anywhere. Positive incentives, not tariffs, are the best and only path to domestic, scaled manufacturing,” said Robert Marriott, director of regulatory affairs at AHPA.
According to Scott Melville, president and CEO of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), products such as over the counter (OTC) medicines and devices and dietary supplements play a vital role in helping Americans manage health affordably while easing pressure on the health care system. These products total $167 billion in annual savings.
“While building greater domestic manufacturing capacity is clearly a shared goal, and we’re pleased to see the Administration recently underscore the need to give industry time to transition, it cannot happen overnight. Our industry depends on a global supply chain for key ingredients and components, and levying tariffs will undoubtedly increase the risk of out-of-stock shelves, price inflation, and counterfeit or substandard products being introduced into the U.S. market,” Melville said. “Many of CHPA’s manufacturer members are investing in expanded U.S. production, but regulatory, infrastructure, and supply chain complexities can take at least five to seven years. Given the widespread use of these products, and the fact that a significant majority of them are finished in North America, it’s essential that any tariff actions be phased, flexible, proportional and targeted to clearly defined national security risks rather than a broad application.”
