Washington: US Trade Adviser Peter Navarro made the controversial statement in an interview with Bloomberg TV, hours after the tariffs took effect on Wednesday. “Everybody in America loses because of what India is doing… taxpayers lose because we got to fund Modi’s war,” he said. When asked if he meant “Putin’s war,” Navarro doubled down: “I mean Modi’s war, because the road to peace runs, in part, through New Delhi.”
The tariffs, among the highest globally, include a 25% penalty specifically linked to India’s continued purchases of Russian oil and weapons, which Washington argues are helping finance Moscow’s war. India has sharply rejected the move, calling the tariffs unfair. Officials insist Delhi will continue buying discounted Russian crude to safeguard the interests of its 1.4 billion citizens.
Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, India’s dependence on Russian oil has surged from under 2% of its imports to nearly 40%, making Moscow its largest crude supplier. Indian officials have also pointed out that neither China, the biggest buyer of Russian oil, nor the European Union have faced equivalent tariff measures from Washington.
The dispute has strained trade ties between the two countries. A planned round of India-US trade talks was canceled this week, though analysts believe the partnership remains too strategic for either side to abandon.
For now, however, the tariff hike is expected to ripple through India’s export industries, ranging from textiles to diamonds and seafood, affecting millions of livelihoods. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged tax cuts to offset the impact, while India’s finance ministry acknowledged that the situation poses “immediate challenges” requiring urgent solutions.