White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Saturday alleged that India was buying Russian oil “solely to profiteer”, and that these purchases were fuelling Russia’s “war machine” in Ukraine.
Navarro made the comments even as United States President Donald Trump on Friday said that “there is nothing to worry about” in terms of Washington’s relations with India because the two countries have a “special relationship”.
Trump had said he will “always be friends” with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that he gets along very well with him.
Over the past month, diplomatic ties between New Delhi and Washington have been strained, mainly because of Trump having imposed so-called reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods and punitive levies for purchasing Russian oil amid the Ukraine war.
The US president has repeatedly alleged that India’s imports were fuelling Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Echoing this argument, Navarro claimed on X that India buys Russian oil “purely to profit”, and that the resultant revenues feed Russia’s war machine in Ukraine. He also claimed that India’s “highest tariffs” on US goods cause job losses in the country, and that American taxpayers have to shell out more money because of the levies.
A community note added by social media users to his post said that the US “still imports billions in Russian goods yearly, including fertilisers and uranium essential for its agriculture and energy sectors”. The note said that this reflected a double standard in the US’ position on trade.
Commenting on the note, Navarro accused billionaire businessman Elon Musk, the owner of X, of “letting propaganda into people’s posts”.
The White House trade adviser reiterated: “India buys Russia oil solely to profiteer. It didn’t buy any before Russia invaded Ukraine.”
The Trump administration had announced on August 6 that it would double the tariffs on goods imported from India to 50% for purchasing Russian oil amid the Ukraine war. A 25% so-called reciprocal tariff had already taken effect. The 50% tariff rate took effect on August 27.
Last month as well, Navarro claimed on several occasions that India’s purchases of Russian oil were fuelling the war in Ukraine. On August 27, he described the conflict as “Modi’s war” in an interview with Bloomberg.
Four days later, he told Fox News that “Brahmins are profiteering at the expense of the Indian people”.
It was unclear if Navarro used “Brahmin” in the context of caste or as a word used in the US’ northeastern region to refer to persons who hold a high social position, as in the term “Boston Brahmins” that describes the city’s historic upper class.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday that Navarro’s claim about the conflict in Ukraine being “Modi’s war” was inaccurate and misleading.
The foreign ministry said that talks between the two countries were ongoing and that New Delhi was committed to strengthening the partnership.
Also read: Unless Modi can find a way to win Trump back, India’s next few years could be difficult
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