US President Donald Trump announces latest round of tariff on imported pharmaceuticals. Photo: White House/X
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday announced plans to impose tariff of up to 100% on branded and patented pharmaceutical imports from Oct. 1, a move likely to hit Indian drugmakers.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said: “Starting October 1st, 2025, we will be imposing a 100% tariff on any branded or patented pharmaceutical product, unless a company is building its pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in America.”
He clarified that “IS BUILDING” would mean “breaking ground and/or under construction.” Products would be exempt if domestic production had begun, he added.
Trump also unveiled new duties of 50% on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, 30% on upholstered furniture, and 25% on heavy trucks, citing what he described as a “large-scale flooding” of imports.
The latest measures could deal a major blow to India’s pharmaceutical industry, which had largely escaped earlier tariff rounds, Forbes India reported. The United States remains a critical market for Indian companies, which supply more than 45% of generic drugs and about 15% of biosimilars used there.
Trade ties between Washington and New Delhi have already been strained after Trump’s administration imposed 50% tariffs on a range of Indian exports.
Separately, Trump signed a petition to impose a $100,000 application fee for H-1B visas, a program heavily used by Indian technology professionals, drawing sharp criticism from the tech industry.