Peter Navarro, former trade adviser to United States President Donald Trump, on Friday accused India of acting as a “laundromat for the Kremlin” by purchasing discounted Russian crude oil, refining it, and exporting the products at premium prices globally.
Speaking to reporters in Washington, Navarro said India’s actions were “perpetuating the war” in Ukraine and dismissed New Delhi’s long-standing assertion that Russian oil imports are essential for its energy security.
“India doesn’t appear to want to recognise its role in the bloodshed. It simply doesn’t. It’s cosying up to (Chinese President) Xi Jinping,” Navarro said, responding to a question on the additional 25 percent tariffs set to come into effect on August 27.
Referring to his opinion piece published in the Financial Times on August 18, Navarro said, “I wrote that article to address the propaganda the Indian government is spreading. They don’t need the (Russian) oil. It’s a refining profiteering scheme, a laundromat for the Kremlin.”
Navarro said, “I love India. Modi is a great leader. But please, India, look at what your role is in the global economy. What you’re doing right now is not creating peace; it is perpetuating the war.”
In the Financial Times article, Navarro had urged India to cease purchasing Russian crude, accusing the country of undermining international efforts to isolate the Russian economy amid the Ukraine conflict.
He described India’s dependence on Russian oil as “opportunistic”, and stated that if India “wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the U.S., it needs to start acting like one”.
“In effect, India acts as a global clearinghouse for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while providing Moscow with the dollars it needs,” he wrote in the op-ed.
The Trump's aide also defended Washington’s decision to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods, which came into effect earlier this month, along with the additional tariff set for August 27.
“In India, 25 per cent tariffs were put in place because they cheat us on trade. Then 25 per cent because of the Russian oil. That hurts American workers and businesses.
Then they use the money that they get from us when they sell us stuff to buy Russian oil, which then is processed by refiners. but then the Russians use the money to build more arms and kill Ukrainians. So American taxpayers have to provide more aid. That’s insane,” Navarro said, adding that “the road to peace runs through New Delhi.”
He alleged that New Delhi had long maintained “higher tariffs, ‘Maharaja tariffs’, and high non-tariff barriers”, while running a “massive” trade surplus with the U.S.
His remarks came a day after Republican leader and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley stated that Washington’s priority should be to reverse the “downward spiral” in ties with India.
Calling Trump administration's recent moves a “strategic disaster in the making,” Haley urged Trump to rethink his stance on India amid escalating tariff threats and growing diplomatic tensions.