‘Long been a cornerstone’: 100% US tariff on pharma won’t impact India much, says industry

India has long been a cornerstone in pharmaceuticals and the 100 per cent tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump will not impact the country much, said pharma industry leaders. India would still need to enforce its cost-efficiency strategy, they said. 

The Pharmaceutical Exports Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) said the 100 per cent tariffs on pharmaceuticals will not impact India much. Indian generic products are, in fact, a cost-saving opportunity for the US, which saves around $200 billion a year from Indian generic imports. The US has enjoyed cost-saving on pharmaceutical generics for the past 10 years, said Pharmexcil. Indian pharma’s biggest strength is its quality and low price points.

The council said it expects Indian exports to the US to rise 10-11 per cent on-year in FY26, while its exports are expected to grow 6-7 per cent. 

This comes after Trump announced on Tuesday that the US will impose a 100 per cent tariff on all branded or patented pharmaceutical imports starting October 1, 2025. This tariff will apply unless the exporting company is actively building a manufacturing plant in the US. Trump clarified that "actively building" means the plant must have broken ground or be under construction. 

Namit Joshi, Chairman of Pharmexcil, said, “India has long been a cornerstone of the global supply chain for affordable, high-quality medicines, supplying nearly 47 per cent of the US’ pharmaceutical requirements, particularly in the generic drug market. Indian pharmaceutical companies continue to ensure the affordability and availability of essential medications – from life-saving oncology drugs and antibiotics to chronic disease treatments – helping stabilise global healthcare systems.”

Joshi said that the tariff is “unlikely to have an immediate impact on Indian exports, as the bulk of our contribution lies in simple generics and most large Indian companies already operate US manufacturing or repackaging units and are exploring further acquisitions”. He still alerted that India must remain prepared for future policy shifts.

“Looking ahead, India will need to reinforce its cost-efficiency advantage in bulk drugs and APIs – an area where the US is likely to favour India over other suppliers – and simultaneously invest in next-generation opportunities such as complex generics, peptides, biosimilars and CAR-T therapies,” he said. 

Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance Secretary General Sudarshan Jain also said that the executive order only refers to patented or branded products supplied to the US and has no bearing on generics, which India primarily exports. 

“India’s strength lies in supplying affordable generics to the US market, not patented or branded drugs,” said Nikkhil K Masurkar, CEO, Entod Pharmaceuticals. “Since generics, which make up the bulk of India’s pharmaceutical exports, are so far excluded from these tariffs, Indian exports to the U.S. should remain unaffected. The UK and the EU, however, with their stronger focus on patented and branded medicines, are likely to feel a much greater impact,” said Masurkar, adding that the prices of patented and branded medicines in the US is likely to go up.