Trump Trade Adviser criticizes India for escalating purchases of Russian crude oil
Islamabad: Peter Kent Navarro, White House Trade Adviser under President Donald Trump, has criticized India for importing 35–40 percent of its oil from Russia, refining it, and selling at a premium.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Peter Kent Navarro warned these transactions fund Moscow’s war in Ukraine and undermine US economic interests.
He has sharply criticized India for its escalating purchases of Russian crude oil, arguing that New Delhi’s actions are directly financing Moscow’s war in Ukraine. He noted that before Russia’s invasion in February 2022, India imported less than 1 percent of its oil from Russia. Today, that figure has surged to 35–40%, a rise Navarro called “nonsense,” insisting India does not need Russian oil.
Navarro accused India of acting as a “global clearinghouse for Russian oil,” converting discounted crude into high-value refined products and selling them worldwide, supplying Moscow with the dollars needed to fund its military campaign.
“They use the money they get from us to buy Russian oil, which then funds arms to kill Ukrainians, while American taxpayers have to provide more military aid. That is insane,” Navarro said.
He also slammed India’s protectionist trade policies, highlighting 25% tariffs and additional ‘Maharaja tariffs’, which he said contribute to a “massive” U.S. trade deficit that harms American workers and businesses. Navarro warned that India’s refining profiteering scheme, combined with its cozying up to China’s Xi Jinping, turns it into a “laundromat for the Kremlin,” perpetuating the war while profiting economically.
Navarro’s comments underscore the strategic and economic tensions between the US and India, highlighting how India’s energy and trade practices, in his view, undermine global sanctions, fuel conflict in Ukraine, and hurt American interests.
