Now Trump will impose tariffs of 150% to 250% on the pharma sector as well, India likely to suffer huge losses

New Delhi: President Donald Trump, while speaking to the media at the White House, has announced his plan to impose tariffs on America’s pharmaceutical imports as well. He said that a “small tariff” will be imposed first, which will be increased to 150% in 18 months and later to 250%. Its purpose is to promote domestic production.

Trump also said that tariffs on semiconductors and chips will be announced “in the next week or so”, although he did not give much information on this. The US is currently conducting a national security review of the pharmaceutical sector. The industry has been asked to prepare for the possibility of this sector-specific tariff, but the administration has not yet decided the date for releasing the results of this review.

For example, Trump, angry with Russian oil imports, has now planned to harm India’s key sector – pharmaceutical. The US has a trade deficit of $115.5 billion in pharmaceutical products. The Trump administration had indicated that it could try to balance this deficit through tariffs in 2026. However, Trump has planned this this year. The US is the world’s largest pharmaceutical importer and second largest exporter.

The US imports pharmaceutical products from these countries
In 2024, the US’s import of medicinal and pharmaceutical products was up to $234 billion. Among the top 10 exporters to the US, Ireland was at the forefront (US$65.7 billion, 28.1% of total imports), followed by Switzerland (US$19.3 billion, 8.2%) and Germany (US$17.4 billion, 7.4%). Other major suppliers included Singapore, India, Belgium, Italy, China, UK and Japan. Imports from these countries were worth $13 billion, which was 6% of the total imports.

31% of India’s exports to the US
On the other hand, India exports most of its pharmaceutical products to the US, especially generic medicines. This is more than 31% of India’s total pharmaceutical exports. In FY 2024, India’s pharmaceutical exports to the US stood at $8.73 billion. Obviously, if Trump finalizes the imposition of tariffs on this sector, India may lose a large part of its exports.