US reciprocal tariff on Indian pharma exports would mainly impact American consumers: Pharmexcil

Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) Director General Raja Bhanu has said that any decision by the US to impose reciprocal tariffs on Indian pharmaceutical exports would mainly impact American consumers, although the domestic industry remains cautiously optimistic. He said that India exports goods worth over $8 billion every year to America.

Citing US studies, he said overall, medicines from Indian companies provided $219 billion in savings to the US healthcare system in 2022, and a total of $1.3 trillion between 2013 and 2022, and generics from Indian companies are expected to generate an additional $1.3 trillion in savings over the next five years.

He also informed that Indian pharmaceutical companies supply a substantial proportion of drugs to the US, with four out of ten of all prescriptions filled in the US in 2022 being supplied by domestic firms. At present, there is no import duty on Indian pharmaceuticals in the US.

Regarding overall pharma exports in India, Bhanu said the target for this fiscal year is $29 billion. During April-January this fiscal year, exports rose by 7.84% to $24.3 billion as against $22.53 billion in April-January 2023-24.

It was $27.84 billion for the entire 2023-24 period. The sector faces challenges from conflicts in certain countries, high freight rates, disturbances in the supply chain, and exchange rate fluctuations.