Global markets were rattled again after US President Donald Trump’s administration issued fresh executive orders threatening tariffs of up to 100 per cent on certain patented drugs, targeting pharmaceutical companies that fail to strike deals with Washington.

Companies that have signed a "most favoured nation" pricing deal and are actively building facilities in the US to onshore production of patented pharmaceuticals and their ingredients will face zero tariff.

For those that do not have a pricing deal but are building such projects in the US, a 20 per cent tariff will apply, rising to 100 per cent in four years.

A senior administration official told reporters that companies still have months to negotiate before the 100 per cent tariffs kick in, with 120 days for bigger companies and 180 days for others.

For India, the immediate impact is expected to be limited.

A Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) report cited by The Times of India noted that around 90 per cent of India’s pharmaceutical exports to the United States are generic medicines, which are currently exempt from these tariffs.

In 2025, India exported $9.7 billion worth of pharmaceuticals to the US, accounting for 38 per cent of its total global pharma exports of $25.8 billion.

The US plans to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on certain branded medicines and key pharmaceutical ingredients, while leaving generic drugs untouched.

This leaves India largely protected for now, given its dominance in supplying low-cost generics to the US market, mentions the GTRI report.

A senior White House official told ANI that generics, which make up the majority of India’s pharma exports, are exempt at present, but the commerce department will review the situation depending on how domestic production evolves.

Still, some Indian companies could still be affected. Firms producing branded or specialty drugs, or those supplying inputs for patented medicines, may face tariff pressure.

The report also warns that the exemption for generics is temporary and could be reviewed after about a year, creating uncertainty.

In an executive order, Trump wrote that he deemed such actions necessary "to address the threatened impairment of the national security posed by imports of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients."

It arrived on the first anniversary of Trump's Liberation Day, when the President unveiled sweeping new import taxes on nearly every country in the world, sending the stock market reeling.

Those "Liberation Day" tariffs were among the duties the Supreme Court overturned in February.

Last year, Trump's announcement of major tariffs on pharmaceuticals had immediate repercussions across financial markets, with major Indian drug makers among the worst hit.