Marco Rubio says he 'would expect India to be concerned' over Trump's pharma tariffs

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has acknowledged that India is likely to be worried about President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on imported pharmaceutical products.

His remarks come days after Trump unveiled plans to impose steep tariffs on imported medicines, a move that could significantly affect India's pharmaceutical exports to the US, its largest overseas market.

Rubio said he would "expect India to be concerned" about the proposed tariffs but argued that the US policy is aimed at strengthening domestic manufacturing rather than targeting any specific country. He said Washington wants to reduce dependence on overseas production for critical medicines, describing pharmaceutical manufacturing as a strategic priority for national security and supply chain resilience.

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Trump has proposed imposing tariffs of up to 200 per cent on imported pharmaceutical products after an initial grace period, while also signalling that generic medicines could face lower duties. The proposal has triggered concerns within India's pharmaceutical industry, which supplies a significant share of generic medicines consumed in the United States.

Industry experts have warned that higher tariffs could disrupt supply chains, increase healthcare costs for American consumers and reshape trade dynamics between the two countries.

The generic drug market still faces structural and purchasing hurdles despite strong U.S. growth, an industry group ​noted on Wednesday, after President Donald Trump said ‌imported generic medicines would face up to 200% tariffs after two years.

"Our industry has grown significantly in the U.S. over the ​past two years through targeted investments across the supply ​chain. However, structural problems in both purchasing and ⁠reimbursement for many generic drugs remain a significant inhibitor ​to the growth of this sector in the U.S," ​said John Murphy III, president and CEO of the Association for Accessible Medicines.

Trump said on Tuesday all generic drugs being brought into the ​U.S. would continue having a tariff of 0% for ​two years starting August 1, after which the rate would be raised ‌to ⁠100% for one year and to 200% thereafter.

The industry, Murphy said, has several legislative and regulatory solutions to address the market deficiencies and looks forward to dialogue with ​the administration and ​with Congress.

Shares ⁠of Indian pharmaceutical companies which supply generic medicines to the U.S., fell 1.3% after the ​phased tariff plan. Swiss generic drugmaker Sandoz said ​it would ⁠continue discussions with policymakers.

"Imposing massive tariffs on generic medicines risk making lower-cost generic drugs millions of Americans rely on ⁠more ​expensive and harder to access," said ​Merith Basey, CEO of Patients For Affordable Drugs, a patient advocacy organisation.

With inputs from agencies