 "<div>‘Opportunistic, corrosive’: India’s oil trade with Russia is funding Moscow in Ukraine war, says Trumps top trade adviser</div>")
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has sharply criticised India’s growing energy and defence ties with Russia, accusing New Delhi of “cozying up to both Russia and China” and saying that Washington would “hit India where it hurts” unless it changes course.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has unleashed a blistering critique of India over its energy and defence ties with Russia, warning that Washington would “hit India where it hurts” unless New Delhi changes course. In a strongly worded opinion piece for the Financial Times, Navarro branded India’s oil trade with Moscow “opportunistic” and “corrosive” to global efforts to isolate Russia’s economy.
Navarro, a former economics professor who rose to prominence as one of US President Donald Trump’s chief trade strategists, played a central role in shaping Washington’s tariff wars. In his latest remarks, he linked India’s “high” tariffs and its Russian energy imports, claiming that dollars earned through trade with America were being channelled into Moscow’s war chest.
“India acts as a global clearinghouse for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs,” Navarro wrote. He accused New Delhi of “cozying up to both Russia and China” and warned: “If India wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the US, it needs to start acting like one.”
“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 defence. 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,” he added.
His comments come amid stalled trade negotiations, with India resisting US demands to open its agriculture, dairy and MSME sectors under a proposed Free Trade Agreement.
On 30 July, Trump announced punitive tariffs of 25 per cent on Indian exports to the US, followed by an additional 25 per cent levy linked to Russian oil purchases, due to take effect next week. India’s foreign ministry has dismissed the measures as “unreasonable” and “extremely unfortunate.”
Navarro also targeted Indian refiners, accusing them of “profiteering” by buying discounted Russian crude and re-exporting petroleum products to Europe, Africa and Asia. He argued that the post-2022 surge in imports from Russia was driven by profit motives rather than domestic demand.
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