'India coming to the table': Trump advisor Navarro sharpens attack over 'highest tariffs' and Russian oil

White House senior counselor for trade and manufacturing Peter Navarro - File Photo

US President Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro on Monday escalated his criticism of India’s trade policies and oil imports from Russia, even as Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi continue to describe the India-US relationship as important.

Speaking to CNBC about the stalled trade deal between the two countries, Navarro said, “India is coming to the table. Prime Minister Modi, sent out a very conciliatory, nice, constructive tweet and President Trump responded to that, we’ll see that this is how this works. But as a practical matter, we know that on the trade side, they have the highest tariffs of any major country. They have very high non-tariff barriers. We had to deal with that like we’re dealing with every other country that does that.”

Notably, Trump had last week stated that the trade negotiations between the two countries were underway and expressed optimism of a deal. He also said that he would be speaking to "very good friend" PM Modi soon.

Responding to this, Prime Minister Modi in a post on X expressed confidence that the ongoing negotiations will pave the way for unlocking the limitless potential of the partnership between them. India and the US are close friends and natural partners, Modi said, adding that both countries are working to conclude the trade discussions at the earliest.

Navarro, who has frequently accused India of unfair trade practices, also targeted New Delhi’s decision to buy discounted Russian crude. “Indian refiners got in bed with the Russian refiners immediately after the invasion, and they’re making out like bandits. It’s crazy stuff, because they made money off of us in unfair trade. Then they use that money to buy Russian oil, and then the Russians use that to buy weapons, and then we as taxpayers have to pay more for this, for the defence of Ukraine. And so how can that be?” Navarro said in the same interview.

He further commented on Prime Minister Modi’s participation alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. “…and watching Modi on the stage with China, which has been its longtime existential threat, and Putin – that was an interesting stretch, I don’t think he felt comfortable doing,” Navarro observed.

Navarro has previously called India the “maharaja of tariffs” and alleged that its continued purchases of Russian crude oil are financing Moscow’s war machine against Ukraine. He has also described the situation as “Modi’s war” because of India’s refusal to halt Russian oil imports.

Trump’s pick for US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday that he hopes the tariff dispute with New Delhi will be resolved “in the next few weeks.” He said Washington and New Delhi are not "that far apart right now" on the trade deal, adding that the two countries are now discussing the "nitty-gritty" of the deal.

Trump has doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 per cent, including a 25 per cent additional duty for India's purchase of Russian crude oil. India described the US action as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable".