White House trade adviser Peter Navarro blasted India for continuing to buy Russian oil and said he expects punitive tariffs of 50 per cent on imports from the South Asian nation to kick in as planned next week.
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“I see that taking place,” Navarro told reporters in front of the White House when asked about the tariffs on India that are set to double on August 27. “India doesn’t appear to want to recognise its role in the bloodshed. It simply doesn’t. It’s cozying up to Xi Jinping, is what it’s doing.”
The fresh salvo is the latest from the trade hawk and comes after India has signalled it will keep buying Russian oil, a step that would preserve a vital market for Moscow. Stung by the steep 50 per cent levy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has reiterated its long-standing friendship with Russia and moved to ease tensions with regional rival China in recent days.
India has ramped up oil imports from Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, when Group of Seven nations imposed a US$60-per-barrel price cap on Moscow’s crude that aimed to limit the Kremlin’s energy revenue. The Trump administration sees those purchases as helping fund Russia’s war, with 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods set to be among the highest on any country’s products.
“They don’t need the oil. It’s a refining profit sharing scheme. It’s a laundromat for the Kremlin. That’s the reality of that,” Navarro said. “Look, Modi is a great leader. But please, please India, like, look at what is, what your role here is in the global economy and good here. It’s like, what you’re doing right now is not creating peace, it’s perpetuating the war.”
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Oil advanced in a choppy session after the comments.