India Urged to Negotiate from Strength on US Tariffs in Pharma Dispute

The government of India is being urged by its pharmaceutical industry to negotiate with Washington from a “position of power” on tariffs set to take effect next week, rather than yield to the pressure. Retaliatory tariffs on a host of countries – allies and adversaries alike – have been announced this month by US President Donald Trump, who said that 25 per cent tariffs on India would be imposed starting on April 2 in retaliation for its steep tariffs on US exports. India is known as the "world’s pharmacy," and a crucial market is represented by the US for its manufacturers, to whom nearly half of all generic medicines, Health products cheaper versions of brand-name medicines, are sent . 

Forty-seven per cent of all generic prescriptions to the US in 2022 were supplied by Indian companies, according to research firm IQVIA. Billions are saved in healthcare costs by Washington, with about $219bn in savings from Indian generics in 2022, according to IQVIA. India’s pharmaceutical exports to the US reached $8 billion in 2023-24, whereas imports amounted to only $0. 4 billion and it is a rise in the pharmaceutical market 

 There are no tariffs on Indian pharmaceutical goods entering the US; however, exporters from the US encounter an average import duty of 10. 91 percent on pharmaceuticals shipped to India.