President Donald Trump said Oct. 5 that medical-device maker Becton Dickinson, known as BD, will invest $3 billion to make syringes, needles and lab kits in the United States, including more than $1 billion in Nebraska. He credited medical-device tariffs that have not been imposed.
"The reason for BD's announcement is my strong Medical Device TARIFFS, which will be in place by the end of the year," Trump wrote on Truth Social. “No one likes needles — But, if you need one, it should be made of American Steel in the U.S.A.”
No medical-device tariff has been announced or put into effect, and Trump's post gave no rate or start date.
The full name of the company is Becton, Dickinson and Company. Trump misspelt the company’s name as “Beckton Dickenson.”
BD announced a $110 million expansion in Columbus, Nebraska in January. The project is slated to add about 120 jobs. BD tied that expansion to supply-chain resilience and growing demand for biologic drugs.
It was not clear if Trump was inflating the figures associated with this previous announcement.
BD did not immediately comment on whether it had made a new $3 billion pledge. Reuters attributed the $3 billion figure and the Nebraska figure to Trump's post.
BD already makes needles and syringes in Nebraska, two of the products Trump named. With four sites and about 2,700 workers, it is the state's largest manufacturer, according to a 2025 statement from the company.
The same night, Trump attacked The New York Times. He accused it of altering a photo of his Trump National Doral resort near Miami. "These people are STONE COLD LOSERS — Totally dishonest. That's why they're going TO HELL, and their subscription numbers are way down!" he wrote.
Trump offered no evidence that the photo — leading a story about “the president’s decision to hold an international summit at his own private golf club” — had been altered.
New York Times Co. reported in August that it had hit about 13.35 million subscribers. It added approximately 280,000 digital-only subscribers that quarter, and digital subscription revenue rose 16.4% from a year earlier.