‘India an oil money laundromat for Kremlin’: White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro

WASHINGTON: Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing of the White House, Peter Navarro has taken a strident position while justifying US President Donald Trump’s decision to levy 50 per cent tariff on imports from India. Navarro, considered the key driver behind the 50 per cent tariffs on India, again accused India of profiting out of Russian oil in scalding remarks.

“India’s big oil lobby has turned the largest democracy in the world into a massive refining hub and oil money laundromat for the Kremlin. Indian refiners buy cheap Russian oil, process it, and export fuels to Europe, Africa, and Asia–shielded from sanctions under the pretense of neutrality”, he said in a series of posts on X.

The White House Trade adviser claimed that the Tariff were aimed at cutting off the Financial lifeline given by India to Putin’s war in Ukraine In the post on X, he said, “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”.

1/ 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. pic.twitter.com/bwLaL9dBTv

— Peter Navarro (@RealPNavarro) August 28, 2025

“Here’s how the India-Russia oil mathematics works: American consumers buy Indian goods while India keeps out U.S. exports through high tariffs and non-tariff barriers. India uses our dollars to buy discounted Russian crude. Indian refiners, with their silent Russian partners, refine and flip the black-market oil for big profits on the international market – while Russia pockets hard currency to fund its war on Ukraine,” he further said.

However, China, which is the biggest buyer of Russian oil, did not find a place in his arguments. “Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian oil made up less than 1% of India’s imports. Today? Over 30%–more than 1.5 million barrels a day. This surge isn’t driven by domestic demand–it’s driven by Indian profiteers and carries an added price of blood and devastation in Ukraine,” he claimed.

Navarro also accused India of imposing high tariffs on the US, and filling Putin’s war chest instead. “India now exports over 1 million barrels a day in refined petroleum–more than half the volume of Russian crude it imports. The proceeds flow to India’s politically connected energy titans–and directly into Putin’s war chest. While the United States pays to arm Ukraine, India bankrolls Russia even as it slaps some of the world’s highest tariffs on U.S. goods, which in turn punishes American exporters. We run a $50-billion trade deficit with India–and they’re using our dollars to buy Russian oil. They make a killing and Ukrainians die,” Navarro said.

The comments by Navarro appear lopsided, as Russian President Vladimir Putin noted during Alaska’s press conference with Trump on August 16 that bilateral trade between the two nations has increased by 20 per cent since Trump’s reinstatement as President.

“Incidentally, when the new administration came to power, bilateral trade started to grow. It’s still very symbolic. Still, we have a growth of 20%. As I’ve said, we have a lot of dimensions for joint work. It is clear that the US and Russian investment and business cooperation has tremendous potential,” Putin had said.

Navarro further said that US President Donald Trump looked to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and India bought Russian weapons.

“It doesn’t stop there. India continues to buy Russian weapons–while demanding that U.S. firms transfer sensitive military tech and build plants in India. That’s strategic freeloading. The Biden admin largely looked the other way at this madness. President Trump is confronting it. A 50% tariff–25% for unfair trade and 25% for national security–is a direct response. If India, the world’s largest democracy, wants to be treated like a strategic partner of the U.S., it needs to act like one. The road to peace in Ukraine runs through New Delhi,” Navarro concluded.

Navarro also failed to note that the Alaska Summit between Trump and Putin did not arrive at any conclusions, after which the White House made the media a scapegoat for ‘rooting against’ the peace efforts. Similarly, here too, the Trump administration failed to note that China imports more Russian oil than India, or has spared it. (ANI)