Indian pharmaceutical shares retreated on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 100% tariff on branded and patented medicines, effective October 1.
The Nifty Pharma index dropped 2.6% in early trade, with all 20 constituents trading lower by 9:30 a.m. IST. Market heavyweight Sun Pharmaceutical Industries slipped 3.4%, dragging the sectoral index further down.
The U.S. accounts for slightly more than a third of India’s drug exports, valued at about $10.5 billion in FY2025, driven mainly by cheaper generic medicines that grew nearly 20% last fiscal year.
Analysts, however, downplayed the immediate risks.
“The near-term impact of the tariffs should be limited as India’s exports are largely generics,” said Pankaj Pandey, research analyst at ICICI Securities. “That being said, uncertainty remains over whether complex generics and biosimilars will be included under the tariff regime going forward.”
The latest duties, which Trump said were intended to safeguard U.S. manufacturing and national security, extend his administration’s sweeping trade actions. Washington has already imposed tariffs of up to 50% on various imports, while levies on products such as steel and trucks have rattled global markets.
The barrage of measures has fueled concerns over global growth, added pressure on supply chains, and drawn warnings from the Federal Reserve, which noted that tariffs are contributing to higher consumer prices in the U.S.
Trump’s announcement on Truth Social did not clarify whether the new pharmaceutical tariffs would be applied on top of existing duties. Recent trade pacts with the EU, Japan, and the UK contain clauses limiting tariffs on certain products, including medicines.
In a separate move, Trump also unveiled hefty new tariffs on imported furniture, including a 50% duty on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities and a 30% levy on upholstered furniture, starting October 1.
“The reason for this is the large-scale flooding of these products into the United States by other outside countries,” Trump said.
Source: Web Desk
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