‘Won’t end well for India’: Trump’s trade hawk escalates rhetoric on oil, calls New Delhi 'Maharaja of tariffs'

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

US President Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro has escalated his criticism of India and the BRICS bloc, warning that it "won't end well" for New Delhi if it does not change course in trade talks with Washington.

Speaking on the conservative “Real America’s Voice” show, Trump’s trade czar accused India of levying some of the highest import duties on American goods among major economies. "But it's absolutely true. They have the highest tariffs in any major country in the world against the United States. We got to deal with that," Navarro said.

He branded India the "Maharaja of tariffs" and listed a string of countries he said had already struck "great" trade deals with the US, including the European Union, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Indonesia. "All these countries are working very closely with us" because they know they have "been taking too much advantage of the US" and also because they need American markets, he added.

"I think India must come around at some point. And if it doesn't, it's lying down with Russia and China, and that won't end well for India," Navarro warned.

Navarro also took aim at India’s purchase of Russian crude. He claimed that before Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, New Delhi bought only "like little tiny drops of it" and then "they go into this mode of profiteering with Russian refiners coming on to Indian soil and profiteering," with the result that "American taxpayers end up having to send more money for the conflict."

US officials have previously acknowledged that India’s discounted purchases of Russian oil were a feature of the G7’s $60-per-barrel price cap, designed to limit the Kremlin’s revenues while keeping supplies flowing worldwide. Before 2022, India relied far more on Middle Eastern crude.

Navarro argued that New Delhi must halt Russian oil imports for the sake of diplomacy. "We're walking a fine line here with all of this. I think that what's got to happen is India's got to stop buying Russian oil. That's going to be good for the whole peace; the road to peace partly runs through New Delhi," he said.

He also called on Europe to stop purchasing Russian oil and cited US tariffs on Beijing. "Europe certainly has to stop buying Russian oil....with China, we got over 50 per cent tariffs on them, and we're doing the best we can in terms of negotiating to protect the American people without hurting the American people. And that's the Kabuki and the art of diplomacy that we've got going on. And you just got to trust in Trump," Navarro added.

BRICS under fire

Turning to the BRICS alliance of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Navarro launched a blistering attack. He called the bloc’s member countries "vampires" whose "unfair trade practices" were draining American wealth.

"The bottom line is that none of these countries can survive if they don't sell to the United States, and when they sell to the United States, their exports they're like vampires sucking our blood dry with their unfair trade practices. Let's see what happens. But I don't see how the BRICS stays together since historically they all hate each other and kill each other," he said.

Navarro also claimed that Russia and China are undermining each other inside the group. "Russia is getting into bed with China. China claims they own Vladivostok- the Russian port, and they're already through massive illegal immigration into Siberia, basically colonising Siberia, which is the biggest landmass of the Russian semi-empire, so good luck with that, Putin," he said. "And then India, of course, is at war with China for decades. It was China that gave Pakistan a nuclear bomb. You got ships flying around the Indian Ocean now with Chinese flags. Modi, see how you kind of worked that out. Meanwhile, the Brazilian economy is going down the tubes because of Lula's socialist policies- well, they keep the real leader of that country in a cell. Let's see what happens...I don't see the BRICS alliance lasting."

His remarks came after a virtual BRICS summit hosted under Brazil’s chairmanship, where External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar represented Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Fact-checks and social media feud

Navarro’s comments follow weeks of online sparring with Indian social media users. He has been repeatedly corrected on X for his claims about India’s Russian oil purchases. Instead of backing down, he accused Indians of manipulating the results of a poll he posted.

"India has the largest population in the world & all it can do is manage few hundred thousand X propagandists to jerk around a poll? Too funny. America: look at how foreign interests use our social media to advance their agenda," Navarro wrote on X.

He added, "Indian special interests trying to interfere with domestic dialogue with lies about India buying Russian oil. Should X present this crap as comments from 'diverse viewpoints'?"