The BRICS TimesAs Washington’s 50% tariffs on Indian goods kick in on August 27, Navarro intensifies his criticism of New Delhi.
White House trade advisor Peter Navarro has sharply criticized India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China on Monday.
Calling the interaction “disgraceful,” Navarro remarked: “It was disheartening to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy cozying up to the world’s two most authoritarian dictators—Putin and Xi. It just doesn’t make sense. I don’t know what Modi is thinking.”
Navarro argued that India should align with the United States, Europe, and Ukraine rather than Russia, cautioning New Delhi against continuing its purchases of discounted Russian crude oil.
“We hope Modi realizes he needs to stand with us, Europe, and Ukraine—not with Moscow,” he said.
‘Brahmins profiteering’
In defending former US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a steep 50% tariff on Indian exports, Navarro accused India of indirectly supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine through oil trade.
He went further, labeling India “a laundromat for the Kremlin” and claiming that elites—specifically “Brahmins”—were enriching themselves “at the expense of ordinary Indians.”
“India imposes the highest tariffs in the world. They flood our markets, but who pays the price? American workers, US taxpayers, and Ukrainians. Modi is a strong leader, yet I can’t understand why he would align with Putin and Xi while leading the world’s biggest democracy,” Navarro stated.
Addressing Indian citizens directly, he added: “You have elites profiteering while ordinary people bear the burden. That has to stop.”
‘Strategic freeloading’
With the new tariffs coming into effect on August 27, Navarro has continued targeting India’s policies. He previously posted on X, calling New Delhi’s foreign policy “strategic freeloading” and praising Trump for confronting it.
“The Biden administration ignored this madness. Trump is addressing it. The 50% tariff—25% for unfair trade and 25% for national security—is the right response,” Navarro wrote.
He further argued that if India wanted to be recognized as a genuine US strategic partner, it must act accordingly: “The road to peace in Ukraine runs through New Delhi.”
Justifying Trump’s tariff hike, Navarro insisted it was aimed at “cutting off the financial pipeline India provides to Putin’s war machine.”
He also accused India of hypocrisy: “They keep buying Russian arms while demanding sensitive US military technology and manufacturing. That is strategic freeloading.”
