Tariff pause eases pressure on drug companies

Mumbai: The White House's reported decision to shelve plans for tariff on generic drug imports will be a relief to Indian pharmaceutical companies, which account for nearly half of all generic prescriptions in the United States.

Industry experts said even as there was a lot of speculation about tariff imposition across the pharma community, promoters of large Indian pharma companies have been fairly confident that tariff on generic drugs supplied to the US is not an easy decision for the US given that it can impact American patients and insurance companies significantly by leading to price rise and drug shortages. Suresh Subramanian, national life sciences leader at EY Parthenon, said: "The view of Indian pharma promoters was always that tariff on Indian generics is unlikely given India's strategic position in the global healthcare value chain." However, the views so far are based on a few news reports and there is no formal announcement by the US government yet.

The US is the top destination for Indian pharmaceuticals. India exported $9.8 billion worth of pharma products to the US out of a total $24.5 billion worldwide in 2024-25. -