India, Sept. 21 -- Potential tariff policies on life-saving medicines are entangled in geopolitics. Indian pharmaceutical companies face growing uncertainty as the United States (US) considers imposing steep tariffs on imported drugs. For the moment, 'the pharmacy of the world' is shielded, but this may be short-lived.

Trade negotiations between the US and India have been strained owing to disagreements over agriculture and India's import of Russian oil. Talks scheduled for August were cancelled after US President Donald Trump hiked tariffs on Indian imports to 25 percent - and then doubled them - ostensibly as a penalty for India's continued purchase of Russian oil. More concerningly, Trump floated the idea of pharma-specific tariffs th...