Some medicines from 20 countries including Bangladesh to enter the US duty free
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The United States has exempted Bangladesh and 19 other jurisdictions from ad valorem tariffs on certain specialty pharmaceuticals and related ingredients imported into the country.
The US Department of Commerce listed Bangladesh among the jurisdictions eligible for the tariff adjustment, which takes effect Tuesday.
The decision follows a proclamation issued by US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposing tariffs on imports of patented pharmaceuticals, biologics and related ingredients. The measure was introduced as part of Washington's efforts to encourage pharmaceutical production within the United States.
However, the tariff exemption does not apply to all medicines exported from Bangladesh. It is limited to specific categories of specialty pharmaceutical products and their ingredients.
The eligible products include medicines for which every approved indication has been designated as an orphan medicine. The exemption also covers nuclear medicines, plasma-derived therapies, fertility drugs, cell and gene therapies, antibody-drug conjugates, medical countermeasures for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats, and animal health products.
Besides Bangladesh, the other jurisdictions covered by the tariff adjustment are Argentina, Cambodia, Ecuador, El Salvador, the European Union, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, North Macedonia, South Korea, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.
According to a notice issued by the Commerce Department, the adjustment applies to products originating from jurisdictions that have an existing or forthcoming trade and security framework agreement with Washington. It can also apply to products considered necessary to address an urgent US health need.
The department said companies may apply for approval for products that meet the requirements under the urgent health need provision.
An ad valorem tariff is a customs duty calculated as a percentage of the value of imported goods, according to the World Customs Organisation.
The Commerce Department's notice also confirms that generic pharmaceutical products and their associated ingredients are excluded from the Section 232 tariffs on pharmaceuticals.
The notice makes several technical changes to the original presidential proclamation. One amendment expands the definition of "generic pharmaceutical articles" to explicitly include unpatented animal health products.
It also clarifies that the term "pharmaceutical articles" covers finished pharmaceutical products, active pharmaceutical ingredients and the key starting materials used to manufacture those ingredients.
