Indian pharma dodges Trump's bullet for now

Mainstay generics not hit by 100% tariff; no clarity on branded copycat versions

- Dhirendra Kumar & Priyanka Sharma

India’s generics-dominated drugs industry does not expect a major setback from US President Donald Trump’s latest 100% tariff on branded or patented medicines even as shares of pharmaceutical companies slumped.

Still, there are concerns about the lack of clarity on generic brand names such as Crocin.

While the industry decodes the implications, New Delhi is examining the potential impact of Trump's decision on India’s generic drugs exported to the US, according to two government officials.

“We [India’s pharmaceutical industry] are largely into generic drug exports. Given their price competitiveness, we will continue to export to the US regularly, as [the generic drugs] are still expected to remain outside the scope of the new reciprocal tariff regime,” one of them said.

“We are examining the proposal and plan to discuss its impact with the export promotion councils. At this initial stage, we do not foresee any major impact on Indian drug exports,” added the second official. Both of them requested anonymity.

Trump’s proposed new tariff rate would apply unless a pharma company has a manufacturing plant or started to build one in America by 1 October. According to a Bloomberg report, this exemption would soften the blow for global drugmakers as several already have US plants or are building them.