Indian medical devices industry calls USA's 27% tariff challenge for growth

Indian medical device manufacturers expect challenges for their growth in the United States (US) after President Donald Trump announced imposing a 27 per cent reciprocal tariff on imports from India. 

The new tariffs may impact India’s medical devices exports, said Rajiv Nath, forum coordinator for the Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD). 

 

India’s medtech exports to the US stood at $714.38 million in financial year 2023-24 (FY24), according to the data provided by the Exports Promotion Council of Medical Devices. 

India is a key supplier of cost-effective and high-quality medical devices to the US, primarily in low-value and high-volume consumable categories. 

Himanshu Baid, managing director (MD) of Poly Medicure, a medical device manufacturing company, said while India may get a marginal price advantage over China in some low-risk, high-volume consumables, the real impact may not be significant.

 

However, industry experts added that India’s primary challenge remained the non-tariff barriers.  “Regulatory hurdles in the US are steep, with Food and Drug Administration approval costs ranging from $9,280 to over $540,000 while US exporters face relatively minimal costs when entering India. Addressing these imbalances through bilateral collaboration is crucial,” Baid said.

 

Pavan Choudary, chairman of the Medical Technology Association of India (MTaI) added that instead of escalating trade restrictions, both countries should move to a more strategic, non-protectionist, and cooperative approach that would serve long-term economic interests.