Health industry welcomes interim bilateral trade agreement between India, US

New Delhi, Feb 7 (IANS) Health industry leaders on Saturday welcomed the interim agreement on the bilateral trade deal between India and the US.

As part of the interim framework, the US will slash reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent. The US will also remove the reciprocal tariff on generic pharmaceuticals, among other sectors like gems and diamonds, and aircraft parts.

Although full details are yet to emerge, the interim India-US trade deal framework indicates that India has received the "best deal’ from the United States compared to others, including all its neighbours.

“AiMeD welcomes the US-India joint statement on trade barriers and clarifies that CDSCO import licenses for US devices are already faster than for Indian manufacturers, who face mandatory inspections unlike overseas firms,” said Rajiv Nath, Forum Coordinator, the Association of Indian Medical Devices (AiMeD).

“The US leads imports at Rs 14,000 crore (20 per cent share), surpassing China's Rs 12,000 crore, with our US exports at $750 million vs. $1.6 billion imports last year. US FDA's preference for ACSA over NABL labs adds asymmetry. Indian medtech battles Chinese WANA dumping, EU CE delays, Japan's yen weakness, and Indonesia's biases, plus CDSCO hurdles. We urge reciprocal fairness, making trade mutually advantageous to empower both nations' innovations,” he added.

Further, the agreement noted that, based on the findings of the US Section 232 investigation of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients, India will also receive negotiated outcomes with respect to generic pharmaceuticals and ingredients.

“Strengthening the India-US medicines partnership is important, as medicine security is a part of national security. Generics are exempted from tariffs. As noted in the joint statement, overall pharmaceuticals (including generics) are subject to ongoing US Section 232 investigation. This is consistent with the approach across FTAs,” added Sudarshan Jain, Secretary General, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance.

--IANS