Trump Administration plans to exclude generic drugs from big pharma tariff plan: Report

Washington, Oct 9 (IANS) The Donald Trump administration has said that it does not plan to impose tariffs on imports of generic drugs from foreign countries, according to a US media report.

The purported decision will come as a big relief for India and countries that export generic medicines to the US, following months of debate over whether to impose taxes on the great majority of medications prescribed in the US.

Under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which addresses national security threats, the administration has been evaluating tariffs on a variety of pharmaceutical products and ingredients, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Earlier last month, President Trump announced levying 100 per cent tariffs on branded drugs from October 1, but didn’t include generic drugs in the measure.

The report claims that the President postponed enacting tariffs on generic medications because officials claimed that doing so would give them more time to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies.

Earlier, analysts said that the 100 per cent US tariffs on branded and patented pharmaceutical drugs would not affect the majority of Indian drug makers, as the hike would mainly target branded and patented drugs, exported by multinational pharma giants such as Pfizer and Novo Nordisk.

Exports to the US - accounting for 20 per cent of the Indian pharmaceuticals market - primarily comprise generic, off-patent medicines, which may not come in the ambit of these tariffs.

"The imposition of a 100 per cent tariff by the US on imports of branded and patented pharmaceutical products starting October 1, 2025, may not significantly hurt Indian drug makers," said Anuj Sethi, Senior Director, Crisil Ratings.

India is the source of about 40 per cent of the generic medications sold in the US market, and these help keep the cost of medications within the reach of US consumers by providing less expensive alternatives to these branded medications for the treatment of conditions ranging from diabetes to cancer.

About $20 billion worth of generic medications are shipped to the US annually by Indian companies and the top exporters are Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Cipla, Lupin, and Aurobindo Pharma.

Approximately one-third of India's pharmaceutical exports go to the US market.

--IANS

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