How Tariffs May Affect Eye Care
By Gretchyn M. Bailey, NCLC, FAAO
With the recent change in US leadership, tariffs have become part of day-to-day conversation. A tariff is a tax placed on goods entering or leaving a country by that country’s government.
For many, tariffs belong in macro economic discussions. However, tariffs have the potential to do more than affect multinational companies—effects from tariffs are likely to affect small independent businesses and ordinary people, such as optometrists and their patients.
At Vision Expo East in Orlando last week, in coordination with The Vision Council, attorney F.D. “Rick” Van Arnam, Jr., a partner at Barnes, Richardson & Colburn in New York, discussed how tariffs may affect eye care and outlined how today’s looming tariffs first became part of the landscape.
Tariff origins
In 2018, the Office of the United States Trade Representative opened a Section 301 investigation on intellectual property misappropriation by China that officials believe were adverse to US interests. Specifically, American companies were required to release proprietary technology to Chinese business partners as a prerequisite to the US company manufacturing or distributing in China.
Under Section 301 of the law, the federal government is able to take remedial steps to correct such bad actions. Therefore, a 25% tariff was assessed on merchandise made in China. At the time, the tariff was limited to products negatively affected by the Chinese bad actions, such as machinery. However, many more products were added to the tariff list.
China retaliated by enacting its own 25% tariff on US agriculture, of which China was a big consumer. China also identified other products that were subject to additional tariffs.
In return, the US created an additional tariff of 7.5% on a broader list of products—on top of the already established 2.5% duty on many imported items. That additional tariff increased duty on Chinese goods to 10%.
Note that a Court of Appeals case is challenging Section 301 tariffs. The case will likely be decided in the next few months, and the decision is likely to be appealed to the Supreme Court.
Eye care involvement
Eye care was affected by the additional tariffs by the involvement of things like spectacle lenses, plano sunglasses, over-the-counter (OTC) readers, low vision equipment, and lens finishing equipment.
However, companies were able to petition for relief—or exclusion—from Section 301 tariffs. If one company was granted exclusion, all other companies with similar products were also granted exclusion. For about a year, exclusions were issued for spectacle frames and reading glasses. Those exclusions ended in 2020, and attempts to renew them were not successful.
In February 2025, an additional 10% duty was announced for any Chinese origin product.
Says Van Arnam: “That 10% the eyewear company is paying to import those plastic spectacle frames from China just jumped to 20%. The same frame, if you bought it today from say Vietnam, would be a 2.5% duty; it is now 20% if it's coming from China. China is the biggest by far producer of of optical products, particularly frames.”
Mexico and Canada tariffs
Also in February 2025, a 25% tariff was announced for products coming from Mexico and Canada. This tariff was framed as action taken against the countries for allowing fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the US.
Says Van Arnam: “This was a huge deal because Mexico and Canada are two of our largest trading partners. “They are are border allies and historically have had good relations with the United States. “We have free trade agreements with both of them, which allow the vast majority of products that are made in Canada and Mexico to come into the United States free of duty and for products that are made in the United States to go into Canada and Mexico free of duty.”
Due to both Canada and Mexico making overtures to remedy the problems identified by the US, tariff enforcement was paused for 30 days. That 30-day period expires on March 4.
“Some companies in the eyecare industry who weren’t affected by the China trade were panicking because they would now be impacted by Canadian or Mexican trade,” says Van Arnam. “There is a lot of cross-border trade. You might have a lens processing facility on the Mexican side of the border with lenses sent over for processing and brought back into the United States for distribution.”
He wonders how the US will measure success for the remedies proposed by both countries.
“What metric do you use to measure fewer immigrants coming in or less fentanyl coming across the border?” he says.
Aluminum and steel
Within the past two weeks, a 25% tariff on raw aluminum and steel (and their derivative products) was announced. Most manufacturers in the eyecare space use both metals in their production, from frames to equipment.
Says Van Arnam: “These costs will ripple through the supply chain because I don’t believe any company will be big enough to absorb the cost and say it’s all on us.”
The additional duty will eventually end up in the cost of goods everywhere, including eye care. Van Arnam foresees challenges in the future because costs may not necessarily be passed onto patients or consumers due to negotiated contracts.
“Patients may have insurance which is paying only X amount,” he says. “Or maybe you’re selling frames to Veterans Affairs which won’t allow you to increase your price. There won't be a direct line from the 25% paid on the raw material to the finished value of the of the eyewear. Some of it will be absorbed, but at some point, you're going to see price hikes and hear people talking about how these tariffs will be inflationary.”
Tariffs on aluminum and steel were enacted prior to 2020; however, exclusions and agreements with other countries largely mitigated the effects. Those terms expire on March 12.
Reciprocal tariffs
The federal government is looking into imposing a tariff on all imported products, regardless of origin, to match the originating countries’ tariffs.
“There is a perceived injustice that the United States has tariffs that are historically lower than those of other countries while other countries have tariffs that are historically higher,” Van Arnam says. “The federal government is looking at what we charge for an item vs what country X charges for that item. If we are charging 2.5% for a pair of spectacle frames, and hypothetically, India is charging 10%, there is a 7.5% gap. Under the reciprocal theory, you would pay an extra 7.5% duty to import spectacle frames of Indian origin into the United States so the tariff amounts would match.”
Addressing reciprocal tariffs would likely create logistical challenges for smaller companies without the resources to quickly pivot.
Federal agencies involved with international trade are required to report by April 1 where reciprocal duties might apply. For example, will the duty apply to specific countries or specific products?
Upcoming tariff deadlines
• March 4: The 30-day pause on Mexican and Canadian tariffs expires. A 25% tariff may go into effect.
• March 12: Previous exclusions and agreements about raw aluminum and steel expire. A 25% tariff may go into effect.
• April 1: Reports due to identify where reciprocal tariffs might be applied.
By Gretchyn M. Bailey, NCLC, FAAO
With the recent change in US leadership, tariffs have become part of day-to-day conversation. A tariff is a tax placed on goods entering or leaving a country by that country’s government.
For many, tariffs belong in macro economic discussions. However, tariffs have the potential to do more than affect multinational companies—effects from tariffs are likely to affect small independent businesses and ordinary people, such as optometrists and their patients.
At Vision Expo East in Orlando last week, in coordination with The Vision Council, attorney F.D. “Rick” Van Arnam, Jr., a partner at Barnes, Richardson & Colburn in New York, discussed how tariffs may affect eye care and outlined how today’s looming tariffs first became part of the landscape.
Tariff origins
In 2018, the Office of the United States Trade Representative opened a Section 301 investigation on intellectual property misappropriation by China that officials believe were adverse to US interests. Specifically, American companies were required to release proprietary technology to Chinese business partners as a prerequisite to the US company manufacturing or distributing in China.
Under Section 301 of the law, the federal government is able to take remedial steps to correct such bad actions. Therefore, a 25% tariff was assessed on merchandise made in China. At the time, the tariff was limited to products negatively affected by the Chinese bad actions, such as machinery. However, many more products were added to the tariff list.
China retaliated by enacting its own 25% tariff on US agriculture, of which China was a big consumer. China also identified other products that were subject to additional tariffs.
In return, the US created an additional tariff of 7.5% on a broader list of products—on top of the already established 2.5% duty on many imported items. That additional tariff increased duty on Chinese goods to 10%.
Note that a Court of Appeals case is challenging Section 301 tariffs. The case will likely be decided in the next few months, and the decision is likely to be appealed to the Supreme Court.
Eye care involvement
Eye care was affected by the additional tariffs by the involvement of things like spectacle lenses, plano sunglasses, over-the-counter (OTC) readers, low vision equipment, and lens finishing equipment.
However, companies were able to petition for relief—or exclusion—from Section 301 tariffs. If one company was granted exclusion, all other companies with similar products were also granted exclusion. For about a year, exclusions were issued for spectacle frames and reading glasses. Those exclusions ended in 2020, and attempts to renew them were not successful.
In February 2025, an additional 10% duty was announced for any Chinese origin product.
Says Van Arnam: “That 10% the eyewear company is paying to import those plastic spectacle frames from China just jumped to 20%. The same frame, if you bought it today from say Vietnam, would be a 2.5% duty; it is now 20% if it's coming from China. China is the biggest by far producer of of optical products, particularly frames.”
Mexico and Canada tariffs
Also in February 2025, a 25% tariff was announced for products coming from Mexico and Canada. This tariff was framed as action taken against the countries for allowing fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the US.
Says Van Arnam: “This was a huge deal because Mexico and Canada are two of our largest trading partners. “They are are border allies and historically have had good relations with the United States. “We have free trade agreements with both of them, which allow the vast majority of products that are made in Canada and Mexico to come into the United States free of duty and for products that are made in the United States to go into Canada and Mexico free of duty.”
Due to both Canada and Mexico making overtures to remedy the problems identified by the US, tariff enforcement was paused for 30 days. That 30-day period expires on March 4.
“Some companies in the eyecare industry who weren’t affected by the China trade were panicking because they would now be impacted by Canadian or Mexican trade,” says Van Arnam. “There is a lot of cross-border trade. You might have a lens processing facility on the Mexican side of the border with lenses sent over for processing and brought back into the United States for distribution.”
He wonders how the US will measure success for the remedies proposed by both countries.
“What metric do you use to measure fewer immigrants coming in or less fentanyl coming across the border?” he says.
Aluminum and steel
Within the past two weeks, a 25% tariff on raw aluminum and steel (and their derivative products) was announced. Most manufacturers in the eyecare space use both metals in their production, from frames to equipment.
Says Van Arnam: “These costs will ripple through the supply chain because I don’t believe any company will be big enough to absorb the cost and say it’s all on us.”
The additional duty will eventually end up in the cost of goods everywhere, including eye care. Van Arnam foresees challenges in the future because costs may not necessarily be passed onto patients or consumers due to negotiated contracts.
“Patients may have insurance which is paying only X amount,” he says. “Or maybe you’re selling frames to Veterans Affairs which won’t allow you to increase your price. There won't be a direct line from the 25% paid on the raw material to the finished value of the of the eyewear. Some of it will be absorbed, but at some point, you're going to see price hikes and hear people talking about how these tariffs will be inflationary.”
Tariffs on aluminum and steel were enacted prior to 2020; however, exclusions and agreements with other countries largely mitigated the effects. Those terms expire on March 12.
Reciprocal tariffs
The federal government is looking into imposing a tariff on all imported products, regardless of origin, to match the originating countries’ tariffs.
“There is a perceived injustice that the United States has tariffs that are historically lower than those of other countries while other countries have tariffs that are historically higher,” Van Arnam says. “The federal government is looking at what we charge for an item vs what country X charges for that item. If we are charging 2.5% for a pair of spectacle frames, and hypothetically, India is charging 10%, there is a 7.5% gap. Under the reciprocal theory, you would pay an extra 7.5% duty to import spectacle frames of Indian origin into the United States so the tariff amounts would match.”
Addressing reciprocal tariffs would likely create logistical challenges for smaller companies without the resources to quickly pivot.
Federal agencies involved with international trade are required to report by April 1 where reciprocal duties might apply. For example, will the duty apply to specific countries or specific products?
Upcoming tariff deadlines
• March 4: The 30-day pause on Mexican and Canadian tariffs expires. A 25% tariff may go into effect.
• March 12: Previous exclusions and agreements about raw aluminum and steel expire. A 25% tariff may go into effect.
• April 1: Reports due to identify where reciprocal tariffs might be applied.
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