Economic think tank GTRI has said that India is likely to be largely safe from US President Donald Trump’s announcement of imposing 100 per cent duty on some patent medicines, as the country mainly exports low-cost generic medicines to the US. Trump signed an executive order on April 2, announcing the imposition of 100 percent duty on the import of certain patent medicines and related pharmaceutical ingredients.
90 percent share of generic drugs in US
The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said in a report that this move has largely protected India, as India dominates low-cost generic drug exports to the US. According to the report, the share of generic medicines in the medicines used in America is more than 90 percent and currently they are exempted from duty. In the year 2025, India will export drugs worth $9.7 billion to the US, which is 38 percent of its total global drug exports of $25.8 billion.
These countries will be affected
GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava said that however, Indian companies manufacturing branded or specialty drugs or supplying raw materials for patented drugs may face pressure from this duty. If the scope of duty is extended to generic medicines then uncertainty about the future may increase further. Srivastava said the 100 percent duty will mainly affect Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Britain and Japan, which are major exporters of patented and high-value drugs to the US.