TMTPOST -- U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic adviser Peter Navarro on Monday urged India to stop its purchases of sanctioned Russian oil as trade negotiations with the South Asian economy are stalled.
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Navarro in an op-ed published on the Financial Times attached India for its oil imports from Russia as opportunistic, and called for the country to stop its buying that was funding Moscow’s war in Ukraine. “In effect, India acts as a global clearinghouse for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs,” Navarro said in the article.
Navarro claimed that India’s oil trade with Russia was at the cost of the U.S. “American consumers buy Indian goods,” he said. “India uses those dollars to buy discounted Russian crude.”
The adviser also slammed India’s oil tycoons and their ties to the government. “The proceeds flow to India’s politically connected energy titans, and in turn, into Vladimir Putin’s war chest,” he said.
U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month hit India with new tariffs over Russian oil purchases. The president on August 6 signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on imports from India, citing “the Government of India is currently directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil.”
India became the first country to be punished by the U.S. over its buying Russian oil.The new tariffs are set to enter into effect 21 days after announcement of the order, which will effectively raise tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Indian goods to 50% this month.
Navarro in his article on Monday described Trump’s additional tariffs as the two-pronged policy since it will “hit India where it hurts — its access to US markets — even as it seeks to cut off the financial lifeline it has extended to Russia’s war effort.” “If India wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the US, it needs to start acting like one,” he warned.
Navarro’s remarks are new signs that the trade deal between U.S. and India is still a long way to go. Washington and New Delhi’s planned trade talks were recently shelved after Trump’s new tariffs were announced.
A U.S. trade team was scheduled to visit India next week has been called off, Indian news broadcaster NDTV Profit on Saturday cited sources. The visit that was expected to take place between August 25 and 29 will likely be rescheduled, according to the report.
The U.S. delegation was poised to travel to India for the six round of trade talks, but India has yet to hear back from Washington on new dates, Bloomberg later quoted sources. It was reported that the delay has raised concerns in New Delhi over whether the U.S. and India can reach a trade deal by fall— a goal set during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the White House in February.
The Indian government was reported on August 7 that it doesn’t plan to retaliate at this stage and is weighing options on concessions they can offer during trade negotiations to avoid a 50% tariffs that Trump decided to impose by the end of this month. It was said that New Delhi officials tend to pursue diplomatic and trade channels before considering countermeasures, with the goal to reach an agreement that preserves India’s strategic autonomy.
Indian officials are reportedly weighing whether some concessions, particularly in the agriculture and dairy sectors, could be offered to address U.S. demands while minimizing the impact on domestic producers. One proposal they are discussing involves allowing limited imports of genetically modified (GM) corn for non-human consumption, with strict traceability requirements, according to the report. The U.S. has been pressing India to allow for the import of American GM crops into the country and for duty-free imports on U.S. farm and dairy products, The Guardian cited Indian officials.