Washington: Senior Counsellor for Trade and Manufacturing under US President Donald Trump, Peter Navarro, has once again slammed India. In a series of recent remarks, he accused New Delhi of profiting from Russian oil and claimed that India’s tariffs are costing ‘Americans’ jobs.’
Taking to X on Friday, Navarro responded to a Washington Post report that pointed to conflicting efforts within Trump’s administration to repair ties with India. The article also argued that Washington’s harsh language towards New Delhi has further strained the relationship.
Navarro, in recent times, has repeatedly taken jibes at India. From calling it a “laundromat for the Kremlin”, to the castiest jibes such as “Brahmins are profiteering” from the conflict in Russia. Navarro criticised the report and said, “FACTS: India highest tariffs costs U.S. jobs. India buys Russian oil purely to profit/Revenues feed Russia war machine. Ukrainians/Russians die. U.S. taxpayers shell out more. India can’t handle truth/spins @washpo Leftist American fake news.”
FACTS: India highest tariffs costs U.S. jobs. India buys Russian oil purely to profit/Revenues feed Russia war machine. Ukrainians/Russians die. U.S. taxpayers shell out more. India can't handle truth/spins @washpo
Leftist American fake news. QED. https://t.co/9UwdodYBEe---Advertisement---— Peter Navarro (@RealPNavarro) September 5, 2025
On Friday, the White House Economic Advisor Kevin Hassett said that US President Donald Trump and the trade team are “disappointed” with India’s continued imports of Russian crude oil, but hoped for positive developments.
“I think that the trade team and the President are disappointed that India continues to fund Russia’s Ukraine war…Hopefully, it’s a democratic issue, and we’ll have positive developments,” Hassett said, answering a question from ANI during a media interaction.
Navarro’s recent post on X comes shortly after the Ministry of External Affairs, during its press briefing on Friday, dismissed comments made by White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal calling them “inaccurate and misleading statements.”
Navarro, in an interview with Bloomberg Television last week, had alleged, “India is helping feed the Russian war machine. I mean Modi’s war, because the road to peace runs, in part, through New Delhi.” Rejecting at a weekly briefing, Jaiswal said, “We have seen the inaccurate and misleading statements made by Navarro, and obviously, we reject them.”
On ties with Washington, Jaiswal underlined the importance of the bilateral relationship. “We have also spoken about it earlier. This relationship between the United States and India is very important for us. Both our countries share a comprehensive global strategic partnership, which is anchored in our shared interests, democratic values and robust people-to-people ties,” he said.
“This partnership has weathered several transitions and challenges. We remain focused on the substantive agenda that our two countries have committed to, and we hope that the relationship will continue to move forward based on mutual respect and shared interests,” he added.
On trade issues, the MEA spokesperson affirmed that India “continues to remain engaged with the US side on trade issues.” US President Donald Trump has repeatedly described India as America’s “most tariffed partner,” calling the trade relationship a “totally one-sided disaster.”
He has argued that while India sells large volumes of goods to the US, it has historically kept tariffs so high that American businesses cannot effectively access the Indian market. Despite his tough stance, Trump himself is under domestic pressure. A US appeals court recently ruled that several of his tariff measures were “illegal”.
(With inputs from ANI)
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