India, July 23 -- The proposed steep tariffs announced by the US on generic medicines could significantly affect India's largest pharmaceutical export market, economic think tank GTRI said on Wednesday.

However, it said that the impact is unlikely to be uniform. "Many Indian generic medicines sell for seven to ten times less than branded alternatives. Even after a 100 per cent tariff, many products could remain cheaper than branded medicines, meaning much of the additional cost would likely be passed on to US healthcare providers, insurers and patients rather than immediately eliminating Indian exports," it said.

It added that the greatest pressure is expected to fall on higher-value generic formulations and branded generics, where manu...