PPE imports of USA reached US $ 20.37 billion during 2020 with a staggering surge of 320 per cent on Y-o-Y basis, as per OTEXA. Nonwoven disposable apparels contributed US $ 4.37 billion under HS Code 6210105000 and grew 448.70 per cent as compared to 2019 figures. This was the highest standalone value amongst total 23 HS Codes under which USA imported PPE products in 2020.The import of face masks, clubbing 5 HS Codes 6307909845, 6307909850, 6307909870, 6307909875, 6307909891, valued US $ 8.56 billion in 2020. There was no historical data available for face masks to compare with! Another huge import was done by the USA for plastic/rubber gloves (a combination of 7 HS Codes – 3926201010, 3926201020, 4015110110, 4015110150, 4015190510, 4015190550, 4015191010), which valued US $ 6.48 billion in 2020, marking 103.77 per cent yearly growth. The massive rise in PPE imports is because of prevailing COVID-19 conditions in the USA as it’s one of the worst impacted countries by pandemic.
