The day after 50% tariffs on India kicked-in, US President Donald Trump‘s trade advisor Peter Navarro said that India can get 25% off on tariffs, only on one condition. In an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Balance of Power, when Navarro was asked if US was actually in talks with India and if there is potential for a deal to change the additional 25% tariff number, Navarro said, “It’s real easy. India can get 25% off tomorrow if it stops buying Russian oil and help in defeating the war machine.”
The interviewer then went on to ask if India was not giving US the signal to follow this condition, Navarro said, “They’re not.”
He said he was puzzled because India, a “mature democracy” led by a “great leader” like PM Modi, continues to deny having the world’s highest tariffs even though the data shows otherwise. He added that India has also made it clear it will not stop buying Russian oil, despite repeated discussions on the issue.
“India is a mature democracy with intelligent people running it and they look at us bald face in the eye on the tariff part and say we don’t have the highest tariffs in the world, when in fact they do. There’s no dispute about that,” Navarro said.
Navarro claims Russia uses India’s money to ‘fund war machine’
Navarro argued that when India buys Russian oil at a cheaper price, refines it in partnership with Russian companies in India, and then sells it at higher rates to the rest of the world. This money ends up helping Russia fund its war in Ukraine. He said this results in more Ukrainians being killed, and then both Ukraine and Europe turn to the US for more financial support. “So everybody loses because of what India is doing,” he said.
‘It’s Modi’s war,’ says Navarro
According to Navarro, India’s actions hurt everyone, from consumers, businesses, to workers, because high tariffs lead to job losses, fewer factories, and lower wages. He also claimed that American taxpayers are forced to bear extra costs because America “got to fund Modi’s war”. He added that “the road of peace runs right through New Delhi. It’s Modi’s war. Because that’s a lot of money.”
Navarro was asked if the US risked losing leverage with China by focusing too much on India.
He responded sharply, saying the key issue was Russian oil. “Reality is you got to stop India and China from buying Russian oil. You do that tomorrow and the war is over. if everybody including Europe, stops buying Russian oil, it’s only a matter of time that Putin runs out of money to fund that war,” Navarro said.
“Modi is a big part of it. It’s a million and half barrels a day. That buys a lot of drones and bombs to kill Ukrainians,” the WH advisor added.
‘Indians are so arrogant about tariffs, Russian oil’
Navarro argued that India has been dismissive of global concerns. According to him, India denies having the world’s highest tariffs even though the numbers prove otherwise. At the same time, they continue to buy oil from Russia, claiming it is their sovereign right. Navarro said this attitude is troubling because, in his words, “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.”
He further stressed that India’s position matters greatly in the war. “India you are the biggest democracy in the world, act like one. Side with the democracies. You’re getting in bed with the authoritarians. China – you’ve been at quiet war with them for decades. These are not your friends and the Russians I mean,” he added.
As per Navarro, peace depends on India’s choices, and he insisted that New Delhi must change course.