India gets US speciality-drug tariff relief

India has been included among countries eligible for zero US tariffs on specified speciality pharmaceutical products and ingredients. The exemption covers orphan drugs, therapies and medical countermeasures, while generic medicines remain outside the Section 232 pharmaceutical tariffs

Washington: India has been included among countries eligible for zero US tariffs on several categories of speciality pharmaceutical products and ingredients, offering targeted relief to one of America’s leading sources of medicines.

The US Commerce Department published the list as Washington prepares to impose a 100 per cent tariff on certain patented pharmaceutical imports and their associated ingredients from September 29. The exemption does not cover every pharmaceutical product shipped from India. It applies to specified medicines and ingredients covered by a presidential proclamation issued in April.

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Eligible products include orphan drugs, nuclear medicines, plasma-derived therapies, fertility drugs, cell therapies, gene therapies and antibody-drug conjugates. The list also covers medical countermeasures connected to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats, along with certain animal-health products.

India was listed alongside Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ecuador, El Salvador, the European Union, Guatemala, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, North Macedonia, South Korea, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Taiwan, Thailand, Britain and Vietnam.

The notice said qualifying products from these jurisdictions could receive a zero per cent tariff because they have a current or forthcoming trade and security framework agreement with the United States. The exemptions are part of the implementation of President Donald Trump’s April proclamation adjusting imports of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act.

The proclamation imposed a 100 per cent tariff on specified patented pharmaceuticals and ingredients. It took effect on July 31 for companies named in one annex and will apply to other covered companies from September 29. Generic pharmaceutical products and their associated ingredients are not subject to the Section 232 pharmaceutical tariffs, according to the Commerce Department notice.

That distinction is important for India. A large share of Indian pharmaceutical exports to the United States consists of generic medicines, although Indian companies also manufacture patented products, active ingredients and specialised therapies.

The decision gives Indian manufacturers a defined route to preserve duty-free access for eligible high-value therapies even as Washington uses tariffs to encourage more pharmaceutical production inside the United States.

India is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of generic medicines and an important supplier to the American healthcare system. Indian companies also provide active pharmaceutical ingredients and finished formulations used by US hospitals, pharmacies and patients.

Pharmaceutical trade has consequently become an important part of the broader India-US economic relationship. The narrow exemption for speciality medicines protects selected health products while leaving Washington’s wider effort to promote domestic drug manufacturing in place.