India’s Pharma Industry:
The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) has proposed zero customs duty on US medicine imports to prevent reciprocal US tariffs and maintain India’s dominance in the American pharmaceutical market.The US imports USD 9 billion worth of pharmaceutical formulations from India annually, making up one-third of India’s total pharma exports.India has minimized import duties on life-saving medicines. A zero-duty policy helps counter reciprocal US tariffs and safeguard exports. Lower duties strengthen trade ties and prevent strict US measures against Indian pharma like amending India’s Patents Act, 1970 to dilute its Section 3(d).The US and other western countries urge India to remove or dilute Section 3(d) of the Patents Act, 1970 which prevents evergreening of patents. Amending Section 3(d) to allow easier patenting of modified drugs (evergreening of patents) could threaten Indian pharma companies by restricting reverse engineering and delaying generic drug production.
