India’s pharmaceutical industry has responded strongly to US President Donald Trump’s plan to impose a 25% tariff on all Indian imports starting August 1. Industry experts believe this move is more likely to hurt the US healthcare system than the Indian pharma sector.
There’s still uncertainty about whether essential medicines will be included in this new tariff list. Trump had earlier said that such drugs would be excluded.
However, Indian pharmaceutical leaders are not worried.
Dilip Kumar, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce’s Medical Tourism wing, said the US is heavily dependent on Indian and Chinese medical products like pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and disposables.
He added, “Trump is trying to hurt India’s economy, but it won’t work. Even if the US market changes, we can export to Europe and other countries. India is strong and will bounce back.”
Namit Joshi, Chairman of the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), also shared his thoughts. He reminded everyone that India supplies nearly 47% of the US’s generic drug needs. These include important medicines for cancer, infections, and chronic illnesses like diabetes or heart disease.
Joshi warned that if the tariff is applied to medicines, the US could see higher drug prices and shortages.
He said, “In the short term, Americans will suffer. In the long term, it’ll be even worse because the US cannot easily find another country that can produce high-quality medicines as affordably and at such a large scale as India.”
Setting up new drug production facilities in the US or elsewhere could take 3 to 5 years.
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Despite the challenges, Pharmexcil said it will continue working with global partners to make sure India remains a trusted and affordable supplier of medicines.
