US Exempts Select Indian Specialty Drugs From Tariff
WASHINGTON, DC- India has been included among jurisdictions eligible for zero per cent US tariffs on specified specialty pharmaceutical products and ingredients, offering targeted relief to Indian drugmakers as Washington prepares to impose a 100 per cent tariff on certain patented pharmaceutical imports.
The US Commerce Department published the list as the new pharmaceutical tariff provisions take effect September 29 for covered companies not already subject to the measure.
The exemption does not cover every pharmaceutical product shipped from India. It applies to specified medicines and ingredients covered by a presidential proclamation issued in April.
Eligible products include orphan drugs, nuclear medicines, plasma-derived therapies, fertility drugs, cell therapies, gene therapies and antibody-drug conjugates.
The list also covers medical countermeasures connected to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats, along with certain animal-health products.
India was listed alongside Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ecuador, El Salvador, the European Union, Guatemala, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, North Macedonia, South Korea, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Taiwan, Thailand, Britain and Vietnam.
The notice said qualifying products from these jurisdictions could receive a zero per cent tariff because they have a current or forthcoming trade and security framework agreement with the United States.
The exemptions are part of the implementation of President Donald Trump’s April proclamation adjusting imports of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act.
The proclamation imposed a 100 per cent tariff on specified patented pharmaceuticals and ingredients. It took effect July 31 for companies named in one annex and will apply to other covered companies from September 29.
Generic pharmaceutical products and their associated ingredients are not subject to the Section 232 pharmaceutical tariffs, according to the Commerce Department notice.
That distinction is significant for India, whose pharmaceutical industry is a major supplier of generic medicines to the United States. Indian companies also manufacture patented products, active pharmaceutical ingredients and specialized therapies, some of which fall within the categories covered by the latest tariff exemption.
The decision gives Indian manufacturers a defined route to maintain zero-tariff access for eligible specialty therapies even as Washington seeks to encourage greater pharmaceutical production in the United States.
Pharmaceutical trade is an important part of the broader India-US economic relationship, with Indian companies supplying medicines, pharmaceutical ingredients and finished formulations to the American healthcare market.
The latest exemption therefore provides targeted tariff relief for qualifying Indian specialty pharmaceutical products while leaving the broader Section 232 tariff framework in place. (IANS)
