'Brahmins are profiteering': Donald Trump's advisor Peter Navarro justifies tariffs on India with bizarre casteist slur

Peter Navarro. (AFP)

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has once again targeted India while defending US President Donald Trump’s 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods, calling New Delhi “nothing but a laundromat for the Kremlin” and alleging that “Brahmins are profiteering at the expense of the Indian people.”

Navarro linked his criticism to India’s purchase of Russian oil, questioning why the world’s “biggest democracy” was doing business with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In recent weeks, Navarro has repeatedly attacked India over its Russian oil imports while justifying the additional 25 per cent tariff Trump imposed, effectively doubling duties on New Delhi’s trade with Moscow.

Speaking to Fox News, Navarro was asked about the US negotiations with India and whether New Delhi was being unfairly singled out, given China’s role as well. He was also asked if the tariffs were “enough to choke Vladimir Putin.”

Navarro responded that India currently faces a 50 per cent tariff, while China is charged slightly more than 50 per cent. He added that Washington must weigh “how much higher the US wants to go without actually hurting itself.”

“I want Indians to understand what is going on. Brahmins are profiteering by buying Russian oil at the expense of the Indian people,” Navarro insisted.

He further argued that India had not been a significant buyer of Russian oil before the Ukraine invasion in February 2022. “What happened? Well, the Russian refiners went in and got into bed with big oil India. Putin gives (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi a discount on the crude. They refine it and they ship it to Europe, Africa and Asia at a big premium and they make a ton of money,” Navarro said.

Meanwhile, reacting on Navarro's remark, national security expert Derek J Grossman said, "Fomenting caste unrest in India should never be US foreign policy."