Just hours after US President Donald Trump’s steep 50 per cent tariff on Indian imports came into force, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro controversially described the Russia-Ukraine conflict as “Modi’s war.” He argued that India’s ongoing purchases of Russian oil were enabling Moscow’s military campaign.
Navarro indicated that Washington can relieve trade pressure if New Delhi pivots. He said a rollback of 25 per cent on the new tariffs is possible if such purchases are discontinued.
While being interviewed by Bloomberg Television, Navarro gave a direct call to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating, "I mean Modi's war because the road to peace runs, in part, through New Delhi."
The remarks came after Trump's new tariff policy came into effect on Wednesday, more than doubling the previous 25 per cent levy imposed in early this month on Indian imports. The White House attributed the penalty as directly related to India's energy connection with Russia.
According to Navarro, Moscow is using revenue from New Delhi’s “discounted” oil imports to “fund its war machine.” He further argued that this reliance has strained American resources, pointing to repeated Ukrainian appeals for weapons and financial aid.
"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 got to fund Modi's war," Navarro said
"India can get 25 per cent off tomorrow if it stops buying Russian oil and helped to feed the war machine," Navarro said.
The newly revealed 50 per cent tariff on Indian imports is the highest ever reciprocal duty imposed by the United States on any Asian country. The tariff is expected to affect over 55 per cent of goods exported by India to the US, its largest trading partner.
Although important industries, such as electronics and pharmaceutical were spared for now, many labour-intensive industries are already suffering due to the higher duties. Around the textiles, garments, and jewellery exports are likely to be among the first affected by the move.
"What's troubling to me is that the Indians are so arrogant about this. They say, 'Oh, we don't have higher tariffs. Oh, it's our sovereignty. We can buy oil from anyone we want...India, you're the biggest democracy in the world, OK, act like one," Navarro said.
The United States has still moved ahead to impose punitive tariffs on India even after having negotiated with New Delhi for months. In fact, India was one of the first countries to negotiate tariffs with the Trump administration, even if the two countries have not yet reached a deal.
The Trump adviser accused New Delhi of helping Moscow's war effort. "By purchasing Russian oil at a discount, Russia uses the money it gets to fund its war machine to kill more Ukrainians," he said, echoing the US President's similar remarks on the issue.
India defended its decision to acquire Russian oil, noting its necessity to facilitate energy prices and ensure stability in its local market while denouncing' Washington's measures as "unjustified."
As a key context, India remains the only prominent economy subject to what Trump has described as "secondary tariffs" other than China whcih is also a major consumer of Russian crude.
Although India largely depended on trade from the Middle East as opposed to Russia for many years the equilibrium changed in 2022 with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The G7 issued a $60-per-barrel price cap to limit Russia's oil revenue yet protect the global supply. US officials claimed; India's ability to secure discounted shipments emerged from the aforementioned mechanism.
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