Dental Restorations Left off Tariff List

Dental restorations were not among the more than 800 Chinese products impacted by the United States' 25% tariffs that went into effect July 6, nor were they included on an additional list released by the Trump administration on July 10 that could be subject to 10% tariffs.

The National Association of Dental Laboratories (NADL) had released updates earlier this year about the possibility of dental restorations being included among the products subject to tariffs. In a statement dated April 30, the NADL said its board of directors "at its most recent board meeting decided not to take a position on the proposed tariffs, or submit any public comment on these specific proposed tariffs."

China remains the largest exporter of finished dental restorations coming into the US marketplace, according to the NADL. However, several other countries are not far behind, and the NADL statement speculated that if Chinese dental restorations were to become subject to tariffs, then the market "may respond and shift offshore restorations to another country," effectively negating the impact of the tariffs beyond shifting the point of origin for the restorations.

The NADL statement also noted, however, that the majority of raw materials and equipment used by US dental laboratories comes from outside the US, so potential future tariffs imposed on additional countries could be "counterproductive."