Trump says will impose tariff on medicines also, how this has impacted shares of Indian pharma companies?

US President Trump announced tariffs on medicines on Wednesday. After this the shares of Indian pharma companies have fallen by 1.7 percent. Earlier there was no tariff on medicines

The US is a big market for Indian medicines. During the announcement of tariffs last week, Trump had given relaxation on medicines. But after Trump's changing stance, there has been a lot of fluctuation in the shares of pharma companies.

Pharma companies like Biocon, Laurus Labs and Lupin have suffered the most. The shares of these pharma companies have fallen by 3 percent to 5 percent.

Among other big companies, shares of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Cipla and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories have fallen by 1 percent to 2 percent.

Trump has not yet clarified when and how much tariff he will impose on medicines. However, he has said that he will make the announcement very soon.

On Wednesday, the shares of all 20 companies included in India's pharma index fell, due to which India's share index Nifty 50 also fell by 0.59 percent.

US President Donald Trump, while giving a speech during an event in Washington DC, said that America is going to impose tariff on medicines.

He said, "We are going to take necessary steps. When we impose tariff on medicines, foreign companies will return to America to manufacture medicines, because America is the biggest market."

Trump has claimed that this will put pressure on pharmaceutical companies. Those companies will shift their business from countries like China and set up factories in America, so that they can sell medicines in America. 

During the announcement of tariff last week, Trump had given exemption on medicines. But Trump has been saying earlier that he will impose a separate tariff on medicines.

Most of the medicines in the world are made in China, India and Europe.

Some experts have warned that if tariffs are imposed on the ingredients used in medicines, then the prices of medicines may increase for the common people. This decision may also affect India's generic pharma industry.

Prakash Kumar Pandey