Latest Salvo: Trump Adviser Terms India A “Laundromat” For Russia

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, D.C. — White House trade adviser Peter Navarro launched a scathing attack on India, accusing New Delhi of enabling bloodshed in Ukraine by continuing to buy Russian oil, and warning that punishing U.S. tariffs will go ahead as planned.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Navarro said a 50 percent levy on Indian imports — set to take effect August 27 — was imminent. “I see that taking place,” he declared. “India doesn’t appear to want to recognize its role in the bloodshed. It simply doesn’t. It’s cozying up to Xi Jinping, is what it’s doing.”

The biting remarks are the latest in a series of insults from Washington. Navarro has repeatedly derided India as the “Maharaj of tariffs,” while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has accused the country of “profiteering” from cheap Russian crude, saying that “some of the richest families in India” were reaping “excess profits” from the trade. President Donald Trump has also described India’s economy as “dead.”

The criticism comes despite India’s repeated defense of its energy policy. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, speaking in Moscow on August 21, said New Delhi was “perplexed” by Washington’s threats. “We are a country where actually the Americans said for the last few years that we should do everything to stabilize the world energy markets, including buying oil from Russia,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has stood firm on maintaining ties with Moscow while also seeking to lower tensions with Beijing. China’s ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, even voiced support for New Delhi, writing online that “China firmly stands with India to uphold the multilateral trading system and safeguard international fairness and justice.”