Peter Navarro, White House trade adviser to US President Donald Trump, has sharply criticised India for purchasing Russian crude oil and defense equipment, vowing to “hit India where it hurts” in order to change New Delhi’s policy.
In an opinion piece for the Financial Times, Peter Navarro argued that India’s oil trade with Russia was “opportunistic” and “corrosive” to global efforts aimed at isolating the Russian economy.
India’s trade surplus with US in focus
Peter Navarro, a former economics professor and a key architect of Trump tariffs, claimed India was using dollars earned from trade with America to buy Russian oil. He said that this, in turn, was providing “financial support” for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“As Russia continues to hammer Ukraine, helped by India’s financial support, American (and European) taxpayers are then forced to spend tens of billions more to help Ukraine’s defense. Meanwhile, India keeps slamming the door on American exports through high tariffs and trade barriers. More than 300,000 soldiers and civilians have been killed, while NATO’s eastern flank grows more exposed and the west foots the bill for India’s oil laundering,” wrote Navarro.
“Hitting India where it hurts”
Trump, on July 30, announced additional tariffs of 25% on Indian goods shipped to America. He followed up with an additional 25% levy, which is scheduled to come into effect next week, specifically targeting India’s Russian oil purchases. India’s foreign ministry has termed the tariffs as “unreasonable” and “extremely unfortunate”.
In negotiations with the US for a Free Trade Agreement, India has refused to budge on protections for its agriculture, dairy and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sectors from unfettered American imports.
Indian refiners accused of profiteering
Navarro also alleged that Indian refiners were “profiteering” by purchasing discounted Russian oil and exporting processed petroleum products to Europe, Africa and Asia, rather than using them primarily for domestic consumption.
“The Biden administration largely looked the other way at this strategic and geopolitical madness. The Trump administration is confronting it,” Navarro said of Trump’s tariffs on India that have left the country’s exports to the US at a significant disadvantage with those from competing nations.
“This two-pronged policy will hit India where it hurts — its access to US markets — even as it seeks to cut off the financial lifeline it has extended to Russia’s war effort,” Navarro said. “If India wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the US, it needs to start acting like one.”
India cosying up to Russia and China
In his piece, Navarro also charged India with “cozying up to both Russia and China” by maintaining close ties with both Russia and China.
Navarro also added to earlier criticisms of India in a new direction by taking aim at defence technology transfers from US firms to India. According to him, building factories in India and transferring sensitive technologies does not help improve Washington’s trade balance with New Delhi.
Pushback from former US officials
Not all American voices agreed with Navarro’s viewpoints. Former US officials have questioned Navarro’s assertions about the India-Russia relationship, said Hindustan Times.
“The larger issue is that the secretary of State and other principals authorized this piece. So those who know better and are supposed to balance American interests either agree with it, don’t agree with it but authorized it anyway, or just don’t care,” said Evan Feigenbaum, a former diplomat who served as deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asia under George W Bush.
“This completes a strange narrative arc from Washington and has finally shifted US policy from a trade war and strategic friction with China to a trade war and strategic friction with India instead. I’ll say it flatly: that is just strategic malpractice,” adds Feigenbaum, who helped negotiate the India-US civilian nuclear deal during the mid-2000s.