US grants zero-tariff relief on speciality drugs to India and 19 others
Washington has exempted speciality medicines from India and 19 other partners from its 100 per cent pharmaceutical tariff, while generics stay duty-free.
Washington has exempted speciality medicines and their manufacturing inputs from India and 19 other partner jurisdictions from import duties, even as a 100 per cent levy on specified patented pharmaceutical lines takes effect.
The US Commerce Department published the list of qualifying nations in the Federal Register. The zero-duty framework covers medicines aimed at rare medical conditions, fertility treatments, advanced cell and gene therapies, antibody-drug conjugates and veterinary pharmaceuticals. The components used to make these treatments are also covered.
Besides India, the exempted regions are Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ecuador, El Salvador, the European Union, Guatemala, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, North Macedonia, South Korea, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Taiwan, Thailand, Britain and Vietnam.
Goods from these jurisdictions receive a zero per cent ad valorem rating — a duty set as a percentage of the monetary value of the goods taxed — because they hold an active or upcoming trade and security framework agreement with Washington.
The regulatory update follows the implementation of President Donald Trump's April directive, which adjusted duties on imported pharmaceuticals and related chemical components under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. The April 2 proclamation imposed a 100 per cent duty on specified patented drugs, biologics and associated ingredients to encourage domestic manufacturing. Those penalties took effect on July 31 for entities named in an initial annex and extend to other listed corporations from September 29.
The Commerce Department confirmed that generic medical products and their ingredients remain entirely outside the Section 232 pharmaceutical tariffs. Recent administrative changes also revise the underlying proclamation: the description of "generic pharmaceutical articles" now explicitly includes unpatented animal health products, while "pharmaceutical articles" is clarified to cover finished medications, active pharmaceutical ingredients and key starting materials.