Michael Einhorn wanted to quit China. He really did. He supports the Trump agenda that champions fewer regulations, a lower tax burden for businesses, and elimination of environmental mandates that inflate energy prices. He founded Dealmed on a shoestring in 2006; today it’s one of the two biggest privately owned, non-private-equity-held manufacturers and distributors of medical supplies in the New York–New Jersey–Connecticut tristate market. And he largely buys Trump’s argument that China is cheating on trade. So when the POTUS announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs of 135%, Einhorn figured there must be some decent alternatives to source the 10,000 products including masks, gauze, testing equipment, and gowns that he sells to clinics and health care facilities all over the U.S.
And this wouldn’t even be the first time Einhorn had weaned his company off China. During COVID, when Trump’s first set of tariffs had made importing more costly, Einhorn had pieced together a patchwork of suppliers that had squeezed the Chinese share of his company’s imports down to 15%. How hard could it be to repeat that strategy again?
