- Saturday, April 05, 2025
The US president has indicated that they would be soon be imposing tariffs on the pharma and semiconductor sectors, and the measures will be “unprecedented” for pharma sector
By: India Weekly
WHEN US president Donald Trump on Wednesday (2) announced 26 per cent reciprocal tariffs on India to reduce trade deficit and boost domestic manufacturing, there was no mention of pharmaceuticals and semiconductor sectors.
This had brought some cheer to the two sectors and shares of pharmaceutical companies on Thursday (3) had settled with gains of as much as 7 per cent.
However, their joy was short-lived, as the Trump Administration has now announced that it would be soon be imposing tariffs on the two sectors, and emphasised that for the pharma sector the measures will be “unprecedented”.
While interacting with reporters on Air Force One, Trump said, “Pharma tariffs are going to come in at levels you haven’t really seen before. We are looking at pharmaceuticals as a separate category. We will be announcing that sometime in the near future, and not too distant future. It’s under review right now.”
It may be recalled that there were indications that sector-specific tariffs would not be part of the April 2 announcement.
Trump appeared to the satisfied with the way his policy on tariffs was shaping up.
“Every country is calling us. That’s the beauty of what we do. We put ourselves in the driver’s seat — if we would have asked these countries to do us a favour, they would have said no. Now they will do anything for us,” Trump told reporters..
India imports pharma products worth nearly $800 million from the US, while exports to the country are worth $8.7 billion, according to CNBC TV18.
The US had announced reciprocal tariffs on more than 180 countries, out of which 10 per cent universal tariff on all imports will come into effect from April 5, and the additional higher tariffs would kick in from April 9.
US customs agents began collecting unilateral 10 per cent tariff on all imports from many countries on Saturday (5).
The initial 10 per cent “baseline” tariff took effect at US seaports, airports and customs warehouses, ushering in Trump’s full rejection of the post-World War II system of mutually agreed tariff rates.
The Trump administration had earlier announced a 25 per cent tariff on automobile imports that was enforced from April 3.
