The United States has unveiled sweeping new trade measures that will significantly reshape the pharmaceutical and metals sectors.

President Donald Trump signed two executive actions imposing a 100% tariff on patented drug imports from countries that have not entered into reshoring agreements with the US Commerce Department or Most Favoured Nation (MFN) pricing deals with the Department of Health and Human Services.

India, a major supplier of pharmaceuticals to the US, is among those affected.

According to senior officials, the move is intended to reduce America’s reliance on foreign nations for essential medicines. Patented drugs from Indian companies that fail to secure approval under the reshoring framework will face the full tariff burden.

While generic medicines remain exempt for now, officials warned that this exemption could be revisited if the generics industry does not accelerate production relocation to the United States.

The tariff regime will be phased in, beginning on 31 July for larger pharmaceutical firms and 29 September for smaller ones. Preferential rates have been extended to certain country groupings. The European Union, Japan, South Korea, and Switzerland will face a 15% tariff, while the United Kingdom, having already signed reshoring and MFN agreements, will benefit from a lower 10% rate, with the possibility of eventual elimination.

India’s pharmaceutical industry, heavily reliant on exports to the US, is expected to face considerable disruption.

Patented drug manufacturers will be hit hardest, while generic producers may experience mounting pressure to shift production bases to America. Analysts suggest this could undermine India’s competitive advantage in the global pharmaceutical market and force companies to reconsider their long-term strategies.

In parallel, the administration has revised tariffs on metals including steel, aluminium, and copper. The new rules simplify calculations: products with less than 15% metal content by weight will not attract separate metals tariffs, while those exceeding the threshold will face a flat 25% tariff on the entire product value.

This change is expected to directly impact Indian exporters of metal-intensive goods, potentially raising costs and reducing competitiveness in the US market.

These announcements coincide with the first anniversary of Trump’s “Liberation Day,” when he introduced a sweeping global tariff plan that shook international markets.

The latest measures reinforce his administration’s protectionist stance and are likely to trigger significant adjustments in global trade flows, with India among the countries most exposed to the fallout.

ANI