Trump’s pharma tariff, H-1B fee hike, GST cuts | Biz This Week

US President Donald Trump has slapped a 100% tariff on branded and patented pharmaceutical drugs, starting from October 1, 2025. What does it mean for India? Well, the United States is the largest export market for Indian pharma companies. In the last financial year, out of a total of around $28 billion worth of exports, almost a third went to the US.

However, there is one silver lining – Indian companies focus more on generics, and chances are that some parts of their portfolio may be safe from the new pharma tariff. Clarity will emerge only when the fine print is released.

Now, what does this mean for you? Well, the pharma sector is also a major job creator, and any hit to the sector could lead to job losses in India. Additionally, if you are an investor in pharma stocks, the days ahead could lead to potential losses.

US hikes fee for H-1B visa

The United States has also imposed a massive $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, starting from September 21. That is a multi-fold hike compared with the earlier fee.

The announcement created a lot of confusion regarding the scope of the fee hike. However, the White House later clarified that it was only for new applications.

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Suspends the Entry of Certain Alien Nonimmigrant Workershttps://t.co/k46jPq4pg5

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) September 20, 2025

For Indian IT professionals, this fee hike has made career migration to the US extremely expensive. It could potentially force them to stay in India or seek opportunities elsewhere. Experts also believe it could lead to a “reverse brain drain”, with skilled professionals returning to India, increasing domestic competition but also innovation.

It could also impact Indian IT companies that rely on Indian talent abroad to serve their customers. That is why, in the week gone by, we saw sharp declines for major IT stocks such as TCS, Infosys, and Wipro.

The GST cheer

This week also brought a lot of cheer for the Indian consumer. This comes as the new GST rates kicked in from September 22. In what is popularly called GST 2.0, we saw dramatic tax reductions across household items, cars, electronics, and food products.

For example, cars saw GST cuts from 28% to as low as 18% for compact models. Since the rate cuts kicked in on the first day of Navratri, a period considered auspicious for purchases by many, we also witnessed long queues at auto and electronics stores.

For example, Maruti Suzuki had a record single-day sale, delivering 30,000 cars and receiving 80,000 inquiries on the first day. While these cuts have triggered immediate buying, they also mean long-term savings for households.

Wipro says no to road through campus

In Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wrote to Wipro Chairman Azim Premji for some help to decongest traffic on a route. The Karnataka CM requested the Wipro Chairman to open his company’s Sarjapur campus to public vehicle traffic, to ease congestion along the Outer Ring Road.

However, Azim Premji turned down the request, underlining the “significant legal, governance, and statutory challenges” since the Sarjapur campus is an exclusive private property owned by a listed company, not intended for public thoroughfare.

He also noted that there was no “silver bullet” to resolve the traffic challenge highlighted by the CM. Instead, Premji recommended a scientific study of the problem by world-class urban transport management experts. He also said that Wipro would be pleased to engage in the process and fund a significant part of the costs.

Mint Street: The Rupee’s fall

The Indian Rupee hit new lows this week. US tariff woes remained the key factor behind this weakness in the Indian currency. The H-1B visa fee hike also soured the mood on the Mint Street.

In fact, on Tuesday (September 23), we saw the Indian Rupee drop to an all-time low of 88.82 to the dollar. A weak rupee affects Indian citizens in many ways. It makes imports more expensive and travelling or studying abroad costlier. On the flipside, it boosts exports by making them cheaper, potentially creating more jobs.

Dalal Street: No relief

Indian markets declined during all five sessions of the week, amid foreign fund outflows. Both the Sensex and the Nifty dropped over 2% each. IT stocks, following the H-1B setback, saw some of the sharpest declines.

As a result, mutual fund and direct equity investors faced wealth erosion. However, some experts also see the current decline as a good time for long-term investors to look for buying opportunities.