New Delhi: The government may offer easier market access for US medical device firms as part of its efforts to mitigate the potential impact of the US tariff threat on Indian exports and create leverage in trade negotiations, multiple people aware of the matter told ET.
The commerce ministry, in a meeting last week, asked export promotion councils to share a list of medical devices where access to the US can be made easier. On the table are moves to lower tariffs up to zero, people cited above said. The move, however, has sparked concerns among industry stakeholders.
“If the government keeps lowering the duty and allows better access to US manufacturers in India, when will India get ‘atmanirbhar’?” an industry expert said on condition of anonymity.
India levies 5-10 per cent import duty on medical devices from the US, while the US doesn’t charge any import duty on devices from India.
“Allowing easier market access would mean capturing the Indian market,” another executive said. “America is already the dominant player with the highest medical device share in the country and we have given them red carpet treatment with negligible non-tariff barriers and very low duty already.”
If India goes ahead with the move, then the US should reciprocate by allowing easier market access to Indian exporters, which is currently restricted due to high regulatory barriers imposed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) norms, he said.
“While the cost of getting an approval in India hardly costs anything, the cost of getting a USFDA approval can be a few hundreds of thousands dollars which is a big deterrent for Indian manufacturers to enter the US market,” another executive said.
“The government should help and back us up, but this is like throwing us to the wolves,” one of the executives said.
The commerce department has been holding meetings with various stakeholders, discussing ways to satisfy the US so that reciprocal tariffs announced by President Donald Trump – which are expected to come into effect from April 2 – can be avoided. At present, 70 per cent of medical devices in the country are imported, with the US being the biggest contributor. Imports from the US stood at ₹12,552 crore in FY24, up from ₹7,547 crore in FY20. It is followed by China that exported ₹11,506 crore worth of medical devices to India in FY24, up from ₹5,101 crore in FY20.
The top 10 items in the medical devices category, which are imported from the US include Magnetic Resonance Imagining (MRI) apparatus, artificial joints, gas analysis apparatus, computed tomography apparatus, apparatus based on use of X-Rays and radiography, radiotherapy apparatus, orthopaedic or fracture appliances, surgical forceps and forceps clamps, among others.
India imports consumables, disposables, electronic equipment, implants, IVD Reagent, surgical instruments from various countries including the US, China, Germany, Singapore and the Netherlands.
Commerce minister Piyush Goyal was in Washington earlier this month to ease trade tensions.
