WASHINGTON– U.S. President Donald Trump has announced sweeping new tariffs on pharmaceutical imports, warning that branded and patented drugs shipped from abroad will face duties of up to 100 percent beginning Oct. 1, 2025. The move is expected to rattle the global pharma industry and could hit India especially hard.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said, “Starting October 1, 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.” He added that “IS BUILDING” would be defined as projects that have already broken ground or are under construction, exempting those from tariffs.
The new policy is part of a broader protectionist push that also slapped steep duties on other imports: 50 percent on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, 30 percent on upholstered furniture, and 25 percent on heavy trucks. Trump argued that foreign companies were flooding U.S. markets and undercutting American producers. “Furniture and cabinetry are flooding the United States. Heavy trucks and parts are hurting our own producers. Tariffs are needed — for National Security and other reasons,” he said.
The announcement follows a string of recent trade measures from the White House, including 50 percent tariffs on Indian imports paired with a 25 percent penalty on purchases of Russian oil.
India’s pharmaceutical industry could be among the hardest hit. The U.S. is its largest export destination, accounting for $8.7 billion of India’s $27.9 billion pharma exports in fiscal year 2024, according to the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India. In just the first half of 2025, exports to the U.S. totaled $3.7 billion.
India supplies roughly 45 percent of generic drugs and 15 percent of biosimilars used in the United States. Major Indian firms — including Dr. Reddy’s, Sun Pharma, Aurobindo Pharma, Zydus Lifesciences, and Gland Pharma — generate as much as half of their revenues from the American market.
While Trump’s tariffs explicitly target branded and patented drugs, a segment dominated by multinational pharmaceutical giants, Indian trade analysts warn that uncertainty remains over whether complex generics and specialty medicines will be caught in the crossfire. (Source: IANS)
