Guwahati: US President Donald Trump has announced tariffs upto 100 percent on imports of branded and patented pharmaceutical drugs from the 1st of October, 2025, unless companies establish manufacturing facilities in the United States.
The move can be seen to significantly impact India’s pharmaceutical sector, termed as a major dependent domestic industry on trade with America. Those partnerships could be disrupted if the pharmaceutical sectors are subject to taxation.
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Trump had on Thursday (25 September) declared on Truth Social, “Starting October 1st, 2025, we will be imposing a 100 percent tariff on any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product, unless a company IS BUILDING their Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plant in America”.
It needs to be mentioned here that President Trump has already slapped a 50 percent tariff on Indian imports, which also includes a 25 percent “penalty” for continued purchase of Russian oil.
How can it impact India?
America is India’s largest export market for pharmaceutical goods. According to the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India, In FY 2024, 31% of pharma exports ($ 8.7 billion/ Rs 77, 138 Cr) went to the US. Another $3.7 billion (32, 505 Cr) worth of pharma products were exported in just the first half of 2025.
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As per reports, India supplies over 45% of generic and 15% of biosimilar drugs used in the US. Indian firms such as- Dr Reddy’s, Aurobindo Pharma, Zydus Lifesciences, Sun Pharma and Gland Pharma reportedly earn anywhere from 30-50% of their total revenues from The American market.
The tariff also threatens to distort the US pharmaceutical market. If branded drugs become more expensive due to import duties, demand for generic alternatives could increase in the short term, which might benefit India suppliers.
“This is less about the immediate blow and more about the future trajectory of US trade policy”, said an Indian-American Pharma analyst. “On the surface, generics are safe, but the message is unmistakable: America wants its drugs made at home”, he added.
