US President Donald Trump on Thursday unveiled sweeping new tariffs, announcing duties of up to 100 per cent on branded and patented pharmaceutical imports starting October 1, 2025. The move is expected to heavily impact India’s pharma sector, one of the industries most reliant on trade with the United States.
“Starting October 1st, 2025, we will be imposing a 100 per cent Tariff on any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product, unless a Company IS BUILDING their Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plant in America,” Trump declared in a Truth Social post.
The Republican leader clarified that “IS BUILDING” would mean “breaking ground and/or under construction.” He said that once construction had begun, those pharmaceutical products would not face tariffs.
Trump’s announcement underscored his continued faith in tariffs as a policy tool. His latest move follows the trade duties rolled out in August, which he argued would cut the budget deficit and spur domestic production.
The latest tariff package also included a 50 per cent duty on imported kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, 30 per cent on upholstered furniture, and 25 per cent on heavy trucks. Trump justified the tariffs by invoking “National Security and other reasons,” though no legal rationale was provided.
Potential Impact on India
The US is India’s largest market for pharmaceutical exports. In FY24, India exported $27.9 billion worth of pharma goods, with 31 per cent—$8.7 billion (₹77,138 crore)—going to America, according to the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India. In just the first half of 2025, exports to the US were valued at $3.7 billion (₹32,505 crore).
India supplies more than 45 per cent of generics and 15 per cent of biosimilars consumed in the US. Companies like Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy’s, Zydus Lifesciences, Gland Pharma, and Aurobindo Pharma derive between 30–50 per cent of their revenues from the American market.
While the new tariffs appear aimed at branded and patented drugs—an area dominated by global multinationals—concerns remain about whether complex generics and specialty medicines from India could also fall under the restrictions. Many leading Indian firms already operate manufacturing plants in the US, which may help them partially navigate the rules.
Still, American consumers rely heavily on affordable Indian generics. Higher tariffs could trigger drug shortages, rising healthcare costs, and inflation in the US. For Indian firms, which already operate on thin margins, absorbing new costs may prove difficult, forcing them to pass expenses on to insurers and patients.
Trump has already imposed a 50 per cent tariff on Indian imports in general, along with a 25 per cent penalty linked to India’s continued purchase of Russian oil.
