Due to the free trade agreement signed with the British government on July 24, ten to twenty percent import duty on active pharmaceutical ingredients-API i.e. bulk drugs imported from Britain will be exempted. As a result, the export prices of finished drugs made from API imported from Britain in India will come down and the competitiveness of Indian manufacturers in the export market will increase. As a result, India’s drug exports to Britain will increase overall. Importers of API and pharma chemicals will benefit greatly. A total of 1560 API chemicals are imported into the country.

The former president of India’s Indian Drug Manufacturers Association says that earlier there was no duty on drugs exported to Britain. Therefore, not on drug exports, but on API-bulk drug imports will become cheaper. Overall, under its impact, the exports of Gujarat’s pharma industry are likely to increase. India’s generic, biosimilar drugs will now be able to enter the UK market without any duty. As a result of the new agreement, the export of drugs from India will increase by approximately 12 to 15 percent. 33 percent of India’s total drug production is produced in Gujarat. Similarly, 28 percent of India’s total drug exports to Britain are exported from Gujarat. Now these exporters will face minimal obstacles in exporting drugs.