← External Forces: Trade, Geopolitics & Market Access (all topics)
Section 232 - pharmaceuticals
What it is
US Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, 1962 lets the President restrict imports found to threaten national security. A pharma probe opened Apr 2025 led to an Apr 2026 proclamation imposing a 100% tariff on patented drugs and their APIs
Phased from 31 Jul 2026 for named firms and 29 Sep 2026 for others; 20% for firms committing to US onshoring and nil for those signing MFN pricing deals
Impact on industries
- Generics are excluded 'at this time' - the segment Indian firms dominate - so the bulk of India's ~$10.5bn of pharma exports to the US continues for now
- The exclusion carries a review clause tied to US reshoring progress, so the reprieve is conditional and leaves export planning unhedged
- Onshoring incentives and ~$400bn of committed US manufacturing investment may redirect capital away from Indian capacity over time
- Parallel 232 probes into medical devices and PPE signal a wider healthcare supply-chain tariff programme rather than an isolated action