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| Tariffs on Medicine: A cure more dangerous than the disease | | | Dr. Manorama Bakshi
Public Health Professional & Health Policy Strategist
I still remember an elderly man I met years ago in a small village outside Jaisalmer. He showed me his box of blood pressure pills ; the familiar purple and white of a trusted Indian brand. “This,” he said with quiet pride, “is made here in India. My son in America says he pays ten times as much.”
That simple statement captures the essence of India’s achievement: world-class quality at a price humanity can afford. We are, in every sense, the pharmacy of the world. And yet, that very achievement is now being painted as a problem.
A Policy Announced with a Sledgehammer
On September 26, 2025, during a campaign event in Pennsylvania, former U.S. President Donald Trump announced that his administration would impose a 100 percent tariff on selected pharmaceutical imports, effective October 1, 2025. He called it a step to “protect American drug makers” and hinted that countries like India and China were “undercutting U.S. prices.”
The announcement may have been politically timed, but its shockwaves were immediate. Indian pharma stocks — Sun Pharma, Dr. Reddy’s, and Cipla — showed intraday volatility as investors assessed the risk. The deeper concern, though, isn’t market reaction. It’s the human one.
The Numbers That Matter
In just the first half of 2025, India’s pharmaceutical exports to the United States touched US $3.7 billion.
Indian companies supply over 40 percent of U.S. generic drugs, forming the backbone of affordable American healthcare.
Conversely, India imports more than 80 percent of its medical devices, many from American manufacturers.
This is not a one-way trade; it’s a tightly woven system of mutual dependence. Tariffs on medicine will not “protect” anyone. They will only poison both ends of the supply chain.
A Dangerous Misdiagnosis
The Trump campaign’s diagnosis is that Indian firms are responsible for high U.S. drug prices. The facts say otherwise. Indian generics are what make healthcare affordable for millions of Americans. A 100 percent import duty would make the very same medicines twice as expensive overnight, while disrupting global supply chains that sustain hospitals from New York to Nairobi.
To put it bluntly: this policy will punish the American patient as much as it penalizes the Indian manufacturer.
The Temptation of Retaliation
If Washington insists on treating healthcare as a trade weapon, India cannot — and should not — remain passive.
We could:
Seek consultation under WTO rules for discriminatory tariff structures.
Consider reciprocal duties on imported medical devices.
Diversify markets to reduce reliance on U.S. exports.
But every escalation carries collateral damage. Medicine cannot become the next battleground in a tariff war. Unlike steel or semiconductors, here the casualty is not GDP : it’s lives.
The Broader Stakes
India’s pharmaceutical sector supports millions of workers, researchers, and families. More importantly, it supports global public health. Our affordable generics power HIV programmes in Africa, cancer treatment access in Latin America, and cardiac care in the United States.
To punish this success is to misunderstand what leadership in healthcare truly means. We do not compete for domination. We compete to save lives
A Smarter Prescription
India must respond with resilience, not resentment.
Innovate: Move from being the world’s best generic producer to a pioneer of new molecules and vaccines.
Diversify: Expand export markets across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Collaborate: Build new research partnerships with nations that believe healthcare is a shared responsibility, not a bargaining chip.
This is how India can turn a political threat into an opportunity for transformation.
Health Is Not a Commodity
That man in Jaisalmer did not speak the language of policy or trade. He spoke of something simpler — the right to health.
If life-saving drugs become weapons in a tariff war, we will have lost sight of what medicine stands for. Health is not a privilege. It is a covenant — one that binds nations, economies, and generations together.
India must hold that line, firmly and fearlessly. Because health is not for sale, and protecting it is the world’s shared moral duty.
Dr Manorama Bakshi, Director and Head Healthcare Consocia advisory , Founder Triloki Raj Foundation, and Visiting Senior Fellow, IMPRI
Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation |
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