White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro continued his vehement criticism of India on Monday — insisting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “getting into bed with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping”. He also accused the Brahmin community of “profiteering from Indian people” and reiterated support for the 50% tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. The top Trump aide has emerged as a vitriolic critic of India in recent weeks as New Delhi pushed back against calls to
‘India extending financial lifeline to Putin’s war machine’
Navarro had begun criticising India and its policies from mid-August — using increasingly harsh comments as Trump threatened and eventually imposed 50% tariffs against New Delhi. The ongoing diatribe began with a Financial Times opinion piece that accused India of being a “a worldwide clearinghouse for Russian oil” and stressed the need for reform.
“India’s dependence on Russian crude is opportunistic and deeply corrosive of the world’s efforts to isolate Putin’s war economy. In effect, India acts as a global clearinghouse for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs,” read an excerpt from the article published on August 18.
Days later he sharply escalated the rhetoric against India — accusing the country of profiteering from Russian oil and repeatedly insisting that was a “laundromat for the Kremlin”.
“President Trump’s 50% tariffs on Indian imports are now in effect. This isn’t just about India’s unfair trade—it’s about cutting off the financial lifeline India has extended to Putin’s war machine,” he added as the secondary tariffs were implemented in late August.
‘Modi’s war in Ukraine’
Navarro has also insisted on multiple occasions that the ongoing clash in Ukraine was “PM Modi’s war” and contended that the “road to peace ran through New Delhi”. He also told Bloomberg TV in late August that everybody in America was losing because of the decisions taken by India. Navarro doubled down upon being asked by the interviewer if he had misspoken while refering to ‘Vladimir Putin’s war’.
“I mean Modi’s war because the road to peace runs, in part, through New Delhi,” he reiterated.
Top quotes as Navarro continues criticising India
- “India acts as a global clearinghouse for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs.”
- “India doesn’t appear to want to recognise its role in the bloodshed. It’s cosying up to Xi Jinping. They don’t need the oil. It’s a refining profiteering scheme. It’s a laundromat for the Kremlin.”
- “I love India. Modi is a great leader, but please, India, look at your role in the global economy. What you’re doing right now is not creating peace. It’s perpetuating the war.”
- “I don’t understand why Modi is getting into bed with Putin and Xi Jinping when he’s the biggest democracy in the world.”
- “Consumers, businesses and workers lose because India’s high tariffs cost us jobs, factories and income. And then the taxpayers lose because we have got to fund Modi’s war. The road to peace runs through New Delhi.”
- “I would just simply say to the Indian people: please, understand what’s going on here. You’ve got Brahmins profiteering at the expense of the Indian people. We need that to stop. Yeah, and we’ll be watching that closely.”
- “What is the net impact on Americans because of our trade with India? They are Maharaj in tariff. (We have) higher non-tariff barriers, massive trade deficit etc — and that hurts American workers and American business…”
- “The money they get from us, they use it to buy Russian oil, which then is processed by their refiners. The Russians use the money to build arms and kill Ukrainians, and American taxpayers have to provide more aid and military hardware to Ukrainians. That’s insane…India does not want to recognise its role in the bloodshed.”
- “India bought virtually no Russian oil prior to the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022…going from 1% to 35%. The argument now — that somehow they need Russian oil — is nonsense. They don’t need the oil. It’s a refining profit-sharing scheme. It’s a laundromat for the Kremlin. That’s the reality of that.”
- “Russian refiners went in and got into bed with big oil India. Putin gives Modi a discount on the crude. They refine it and ship it to Europe, Africa, and Asia at a big premium and they make a ton of money.”