Did govt buckle under Trump’s threat?

India’s decision to partially lift the ban on export of hydroxychloroquine and paracetamol formulations is worrying for several reasons. For one, the decision seems to have come not after a careful consideration of India’s interests and the health and well-being of its own people but under duress from the United States. Washington has been pressing India to ship hydroxychloroquine to the US. Although there is little evidence that hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug, is effective in curing COVID-19, US President Donald Trump has described it as a ‘game-changer’ in fighting the coronavirus. With COVID-19 cases in the US soaring towards half a million, Trump is keen to get India, the world’s leading manufacturer of hydroxychloroquine, to supply the drug. On Sunday, he reportedly discussed this issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The following day, the US President ratcheted up pressure on India, warning of “retaliation” if India did not do his bidding. Whether or not the Modi government buckled under this threat, the timing of its decision to unfreeze the exports, coming as it did within hours of the warning, makes it seem that it did.

Only a few days ago, India imposed a ban on export of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and medicines that are necessary for its own fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Why then the sudden volte-face? At the time it imposed the ban, the government did say that that it would revise this decision if necessary, after taking stock of the coronavirus situation at home and domestic requirements for drugs. In the days since, the number of COVID-19 cases in India has soared, underscoring rising local requirements for medicines. Clearly, an assessment of domestic needs did not factor in the government’s decision to partially lift the ban on export of drugs.

Providing other countries with medicines and other supplies when they are faced with a crisis is important and necessary, and the US is at present the worst-hit among the countries fighting the coronavirus, especially as its doctors and frontline workers are among the worst affected. In these times, India must aid the US in whatever ways it can, including by supplying hydroxychloroquine, which is expected to be of help to frontline health workers and those who are severely affected by coronavirus. However, the big question is whether India’s export of hydroxychloroquine will benefit the American people. It may not as it is widely feared that US pharma companies will sell these tablets at exorbitant rates to make windfall profits. India should make its supply of hydroxychloroquine conditional on these medicines being made accessible to all Americans.