United States President Donald Trump on Monday said that if India does not export hydroxychloroquine to the US, India may witness retaliation.
“I spoke to him (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) on Sunday morning and I said we appreciate it that you are allowing our supply of hydroxychloroquine to come out if he doesn’t allow it to come out, that would be okay, but of course, there may be retaliation, why wouldn’t there be?” Trump warned India in his press briefing with Coronavirus Task Force.
Trump called PM Narendra Modi on Sunday, a day after India banned the export of hydroxychloroquine, which it manufactures in large quantities.
On Saturday, India banned the export of the drug “without any exception”. The order came after India has recorded 3,666 active cases of the virus with more than 130 deaths.
Hydroxychloroquine is very similar to Chloroquine, one of the oldest and best-known anti-malarial drugs, according to World Health Organization.
Trump said that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved it for treating coronavirus, something the organization has denied.
Trump later said that it had been approved for “compassionate use” – which means a doctor can give a drug that is yet to be cleared by the government to a patient in a life-threatening condition, BBC reports.
