India's PM fueling Putin's "war machine" by buying Russian oil, Navarro says
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Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro outside the White House in March. Photo: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
Trump administration tariffs on India would halve "if it stops buying Russian oil and helping to feed the war machine" in Ukraine, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said Wednesday.
Why it matters: India's tariffs doubled to 50% on Wednesday, but the key U.S. trading partner is showing no signs of backing down, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging citizens to buy Indian-made and his senior officials meeting with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin last week.
- Negotiations on a trade deal between U.S. and Indian officials that were due to start this week were called off just days before the highest tariffs in Asia imposed by the Trump administration kicked in.
Driving the news: Bloomberg TV's Joe Mathieu asked Navarro during an interview Wednesday whether U.S. officials were in talks with their Indian counterparts and whether there was the potential to reach a deal.
- "It's real easy. India can get 25% off tomorrow if it stops buying Russian oil," Navarro said.
Yes, but: He confirmed Indian officials were not sending that signal and they said they won't stop buying Russian oil.
- "When India buys Russian oil at a discount and then Indian refiners in partnership in India with Russian refiners make that and sell it at a premium to the rest of the world, Russia uses the money it gets to fund its war machine, kill more Ukrainians," Navarro said.
- "And then the next thing that happens, of course, is Ukraine comes to us and Europe and says give us some more money," he continued. "Everybody in America loses because of what India is doing.
- "The consumers and businesses and everything lose, and workers lose because India's high tariffs cost us jobs, and factories, and income and higher wages. And then the taxpayers lose because we've got to fund Modi's war," Navarro added.
Of note: Asked if he meant Putin's war, Navarro said: "I mean Modi's war, because the road to peace runs, in part, through New Delhi."
The other side: Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar vowed to "take all actions necessary to protect national interests" and said it's "perplexing" to hit India with some of the world's largest tariffs when China and the EU were Russia's biggest oil and gas customers, per the Times of India.
- "We are a country where the Americans have said for the last few years that we should do everything to stabilise the world energy market, including buying oil from Russia," he added.
Go deeper: Modi issues buy India-made call as Trump's 50% tariffs take effect
