Washington, April 2 -- The United States has announced sweeping new trade measures targeting patented pharmaceutical imports and metals, as President Donald Trump signed two significant executive actions.

Under the new framework on Thursday, a 100% tariff will apply to patented drug imports from countries, including India, that have neither signed a reshoring agreement with the US Commerce Department nor a Most Favoured Nation (MFN) pricing deal with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

A senior White House official said the measure was designed to reduce America's dependence on foreign nations for essential medicines. The official further told ANI, "100% tariff is on patented products. Any patented drug imports from India...