Illumina has been barred from exporting its DNA sequencers to China, which closed its doors to the company in response to the Trump administration expanding its tariffs on the country.
Previously—after the White House first levied a 10% duty on Chinese goods in early February—the country’s commerce ministry placed Illumina on its “unreliable entities list,” which opened the company up to future sanctions.
Those U.S. tariffs increased an additional 10% last night, while new 25% measures took effect on goods from Canada and Mexico.
The medtech trade association AdvaMed has been lobbying for exemptions for medical devices, as analysts have estimated that about 75% of the hardware marketed within the U.S. is manufactured outside the country. China and Mexico are top producers, while Canada serves as a major market for U.S. exports.
Illumina’s stock price dipped about 4% in overnight trading, before recovering this morning to about a 1.5% loss compared to the day before, landing around $82.60.
“Importantly, today’s announcement does not ban Illumina from operating in China,” the company said in a statement to Fierce Medtech, with the government's notice not explicitly mentioning the reagents or consumables necessary to run the sequencing machines. “Illumina will continue to serve our customers in China, supporting the important work they are doing to improve human health.”
“We respect and abide by Chinese laws and regulations, and we are committed to operating in compliance with the latest guidelines from the Ministry of Commerce. We also appreciate the Chinese government's long-term support for foreign investors, including Illumina,” said the company, which added that it is continuing to assess the announcement and its potential impact.
The sequencing giant currently collects about 7% of its revenue from China—with about $300 million in 2024 sales—and previously reported more than 300 employees based in the greater region, including Hong Kong and Taiwan. The company opened its first manufacturing site in the country in 2022, with a reagent manufacturing site in Shanghai, and had planned to expand to instrument production by 2028.
That sales figure, however, has been declining annually in recent years, amid increased competition from China’s BGI Genomics and MGI Tech.
BGI saw its shares on the Shenzhen exchange rise more than 8% on the news, while MGI’s stock grew 20% in Shanghai—hitting the daily trading limit, according to a report from Reuters.
China’s retaliation against the new tariffs also included 10% to 15% levies on U.S. agricultural exports—covering chicken and beef, as well as wheat, corn, cotton, soybeans and feed grains—as well as the addition of 25 more companies to its unreliable entities list.