The company will watch how things evolve but it will not do “anything special” because of the announcement by US President Donald Trump, who stated that tariffs on imported generic medicines will be kept at zero per cent for two years before raising them to 100 per cent in August 2028 and 200 per cent thereafter.
“If the tariff is increased, we will have to increase prices in the US,” Israeli told reporters in an earnings call when asked about Trump’s announcement.
It is not practical to move manufacturing operations to the US, he noted.
“Naturally, we will see how this will evolve,” Israeli said, adding “we are not going to do anything special because of the announcement”.
He cautioned that with the tariffs, additional costs will come.
Asked if there could be partnerships, technology transfer or contract manufacturing in the US, he said the company is “always open to anything that will be good for the business”.Israeli, however, said considering the “magnitude and cost difference” of the US with some of the markets like Russia, “we are very far from such a step, but if required we will look at it”.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said beginning August 1, the US will continue to have a zero per cent tariff on all generic drugs brought into the country for two years, after which it will be raised to 100 per cent for one year, and 200 per cent thereafter.
The development could impact India as it is the largest exporter of generic drugs to the US.