Navarro had claimed Indian refiners buy cheap Russian oil and export it to Europe, Africa, and Asia
- Peter Navarro criticised PM Modi's meeting with Putin and Xi at the SCO summit as a shame
- Navarro accused India of funding Russia's war on Ukraine through discounted crude oil purchases
- He said PM Modi should be on the US side, rather than supporting Russia.
US President Donald Trump's trade adviser, Peter Navarro, doubled down on his criticism of India's trade ties with Russia, calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit a "shame."
"It is a shame to see [PM] Modi getting in bed with Xi Jinping and Putin. I'm not sure what he's thinking. We hope he comes around to seeing that he needs to be with us and not Russia," he said.
The remarks came a day after Prime Minister Modi visited China, where he attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and met Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Since President Trump dropped his tariff bombshell on India, the White House trade czar has frequently criticised New Delhi's continued crude trade with Moscow, alleging that the revenue from the oil purchase was funding Russian President Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine-- a conflict the US President has failed to end despite boasting last year he could do so within hours.
"Maharaja Of Tariffs" Claim
In his earlier remarks, Navarro had called India the "Maharaja of tariffs," claiming New Delhi's tariffs are among the highest among major economies and the country refuses to acknowledge it.
"There's a two-prong problem with India...Twenty-five per cent is reciprocal - because of unfair trade - and the other 25 per cent is because India is buying oil from Russia," he had said.
"They are in denial about that...They try to tell everybody that it's not true - and it is demonstrably true."
"Brahmins Profiteering"
The White House adviser had also raked up caste fault lines to escalate his attack, alleging that "Brahmins are profiteering at the expense of ordinary Indians" when India buys discounted Russian oil.
"Kremlin Laundromat"
He also labelled India as a "laundromat for the Kremlin", alleging that Indian refiners were buying discounted Russian crude, processing it, and exporting it at a premium.
"It kills Ukrainians...And what do we have to do as taxpayers? We've got to send them more money," he said.
Navarro had also tried to defend Team Trump's punitive tariffs on Indian exports and claimed New Delhi's ties with Moscow and Beijing were undermining global stability.
India's Stand
India has defended its purchases of Russian oil, saying it was necessary to keep energy prices low and stabilise its domestic market, and has cast the US's actions as "unjustified." India is the only major economy to be hit by what Trump has cast as "secondary tariffs", even though China is also a major buyer of Russian crude.
Historically, India was not a significant importer of Russian crude, depending more heavily on the Middle East. But that changed in 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine and the Group of Seven nations imposed a $60-per-barrel price cap to limit the Kremlin's oil revenue while ensuring that supplies continued to flow globally. India's ability to purchase discounted cargoes was a feature of that mechanism, US officials have acknowledged.
