Coronavirus: India lifts export ban on unproven drug after Trump threatens ‘retaliation’

New Delhi had said stockpiling hydroxychloroquine was key in country's own battle with Covid-19 - but will now allow it to be sent to US after all

It was considered by some a key plank in India’s battle against coronavirus: on Saturday, the government there announced it was banning the export of various drugs which could potentially help patients diagnosed with Covid-19.

Stockpiles of medicines, including hydroxychloroquine – an anti-malaria drug being tested as an unlikely but potential treatment – were to be kept in the country to ensure there was enough to deal with the emergency.

Three days later the decision has been reversed – after Donald Trump threatened “retaliation” if India did not keep sending the drugs to the US.

New Delhi has announced it is partially lifting the restrictions of exports to specific countries, ostensibly saying a full assessment has shown that it had enough for domestic use.

But many will see the U-turn as caving into Mr Trump’s bellicose rhetoric.

India, the largest producer of hydroxychloroquine, initially banned exports of the drug on 25 March to ensure adequate domestic supplies. Rules were then tightened further on Saturday with formulations made from hydroxychloroquine also barred.

But at a press conference on Sunday, Donald Trump explicitly threatened retaliation if the ban was not lifted for the US.

“I said we’d appreciate you allowing our supply to come out,” he told reporters of a phone call with prime minister Narendra Modi. “If he doesn’t allow it to come out, that would be okay but, of course, there may be retaliation. Why wouldn’t that be?”

He added: “I don’t like that decision…I spoke to him [Mr Modi] yesterday. We had a very good talk, and we’ll see whether or not that’s his decision. I would be surprised if he would you know because India does very well with the US.”

Within 24 hours the ban was lifted.

In a statement released after the U-turn, Anurag Srivastava, India’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said the restrictions had been eased after a full stocktake ruled releasing the medicines would not impact on India’s ability to medicate its own population.

He said: “Like any responsible government, our first obligation is to ensure that there are adequate stocks of medicines for the requirement of our own people.”

But he added: “Temporary steps were taken to restrict exports of a number of pharmaceutical products. In the meanwhile, a comprehensive assessment was made of possible requirements under different scenarios.

“After having confirmed the availability of medicines for all possible contingencies currently envisaged, these restrictions have been largely lifted… With regard to paracetamol and Hydroxychloroquine, they will be kept in a licensed category and their demand position would be continuously monitored. However, the stock position could allow our companies to meet the export commitments that they had contracted. “

The controversy comes despite hydroxychloroquine being entirely unproven as a Covid-19 treatment and with medics sceptical of its potential usefulness.

While Mr Trump has repeatedly promoted it as a potential “game changer”, tests show patients treated with the drug fight off the illness no better than those who were not.