Prez Trump warns reprieve for pharmaceuticals, major Indian export, to end 'shortly'

"We're going to be announcing very shortly a major tariff on pharmaceuticals", he said on Tuesday night shortly before his levies on most US imports were to come into force.

He mentioned China in his speech at a dinner of the National Republican Congressional Committee in Washington, but no India, which sends 31.5 per cent of its exports to the US.

Most other exports from India will be hit with the 37 per cent reciprocal tariffs he announced last Wednesday.

Trumpeting the announcement, President Trump said, "That's breaking news, ladies and gentlemen."

When the drug companies hear about the tariffs "they will leave China, they will leave other places, because they have to sell and most of their product is sold here", he said.

"They're going to be opening up their plants all over the place, in our country", he said.

When President Trump announced his reciprocal tariffs last week, he exempted pharmaceuticals, copper, semiconductors, lumber, bullion, energy, and certain minerals from the tariffs because of their critical importance to the US economy.

The reprieve for the pharmaceuticals was because imported drugs, especially the generics from India, help hold down the costs of the US healthcare system, which is one of the most expensive in the world.

There have been warnings that the US health system will face higher costs if tariffs are imposed on pharmaceuticals.

ING Bank said that "in the absence of a deal with India, we think Trump's tariffs will mostly drive up drug prices for US consumers" because of the wide use of generics for which India is the major supplier.

"The global supply chain for generic and biosimilar medicines is critically important for US patients", John Murphy, president of the Association for Accessible Medicines, said earlier this year.

"Generic manufacturers simply can't absorb new costs" due to the tariffs, he said.

"Our manufacturers sell at an extremely low price, sometimes at a loss", he said.

India and the US are trying to work out a Bilateral Trade Agreement, which could soften the impact of tariffs.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a call agreed on the "early conclusion" of such an agreement.

IQVIA, a healthcare data and analytics company, said that four out of ten prescriptions filled in the US in 2022 were from Indian companies.

"Out of the top 10 therapy areas by prescription volume, Indian companies supplied more than half of the prescriptions for five: Hypertension, mental health, lipid regulators, nervous system disorders, and antiulcerants", it said.