US Tariff Impact on Indian Medical Device Industry

New Delhi, Apr 3 (PTI) Imposition of 26 per cent reciprocal tariff on medical device exports to US may pose challenges to the sector's growth, Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) said on Thursday.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced reciprocal tariffs on about 60 countries in a historic measure to counter higher duties imposed globally on American products.

"Historically, India has been a key supplier of cost-effective, high-quality medical devices to the US, primarily in low-value, high volume consumables categories," AiMeD Forum Coordinator Rajiv Nath said in a statement.

The new tariff may possibly impact Indian medical devices exports, and the industry will have to explore windows of opportunities where the US has been seeking to diversify its supply chain dependence on any one nation, he added.

In 2023-24, India's medical device exports to the US stood at USD 714.38 million, while imports from the US to India were significantly higher at USD 1,519.94 million, as per data shared by the Export Promotion Council of Medical Devices.

India faces lower duty than other countries like China (34 per cent), Vietnam (46 per cent) and Taiwan 32 (per cent).

"While India may seemingly gain a marginal price advantage over China (8 per cent) in certain low-risk, high-volume consumables, the real impact may not be significant if our prices were higher than 15 per cent and the impact has to be further studied compared to other competing nations," Poly Medicure MD Himanshu Baid stated.

Despite the tariff challenges, India's primary obstacle remains non-tariff barriers rather than tariffs themselves, he added.

"Regulatory hurdles in the US are steep, with FDA approval costs ranging from USD 9,280 to over USD 540,000, whereas US exporters face relatively minimal costs when entering India. Addressing these imbalances through bilateral collaboration is crucial," Baid stated.

Nath sought government support in bilateral negotiations for a balanced approach to tariffs and regulatory policies as an essential requirement to position India as a competitive global player in the medical device industry.