INDIA has been included among countries eligible for zero US tariffs on several categories of speciality pharmaceutical products and ingredients, offering targeted relief to one of America’s leading sources of medicines. The US Commerce Department published the list as Washington prepares to impose a 100 per cent tariff on certain patented pharmaceutical imports and their associated ingredients from September 29. The exemption does not cover every pharmaceutical product shipped from India. It applies to specified medicines and ingredients covered by a presidential proclamation issued in April.

 

Eligible products include orphan drugs, nuclear medicines, plasma-derived therapies, fertility drugs, cell therapies, gene therapies and antibody-drug conjugates. The list also covers medical countermeasures connected to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats, along with certain animalhealth products. India was listed alongside Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ecuador, El Salvador, the European Union, Guatemala, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, North Macedonia, South Korea, Switzerland and Liechtenstein,Taiwan,Thailand, Britain and Vietnam.