US President Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro on Tuesday dubbed the Russia-Ukraine war “Modi’s war”, adding that the road to peace between Russia and Ukraine partly runs through New Delhi. This comes a day after the US dramatically raised tariffs on Indian products to 50 per cent, leaving low-margin products such as textiles and footwear unavailable in the US market.
“Everybody in America loses because of what India is doing. Consumers, businesses and workers lose because India’s high tariffs cost us jobs, factories and income. And then the taxpayers lose because we’ve got to fund Modi’s war. The road to peace runs at least partly right through New Delhi,” Navarro said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. Navarro reiterated “Modi’s war” after the interviewer said “you mean Putin’s war”.
Responding to a question on whether or not India is sending signals that it is going to stop buying Russian oil, Navarro said, “They [India] are not,” adding that he is “puzzled” because Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a “great leader”. “Look, it’s really easy. India can get 25 per cent off tomorrow if it stops buying Russian oil,” Navarro said.
Reiterating US concerns over India’s purchase of Russian oil, Navarro said: “When Indian refiners, in partnership with Russian refiners, sell oil at a premium to the rest of the world, Russia uses the money it gets to fund its war machine to kill more Ukrainians. And then the next thing that happens, of course, is Ukraine comes to the US and Europe and says, give us some more money. So everybody in America loses because of what India is doing.”
Meanwhile, officials in the Indian government have maintained that India will buy energy from wherever it gets the best deal.
Vinay Kumar, Delhi’s Ambassador to Moscow, said: “We have clearly stated that our objective is the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India, and India’s cooperation with Russia, as with several other countries, has helped to bring about stability in the global oil market,” Kumar told Russian news agency TASS.
His remarks follow those of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar who, while in Moscow earlier this month, said he was “very perplexed” by the additional 25 per cent US tariff on India because “it was the Americans” who said, “we should do everything to stabilise the world’s energy markets, including buying oil from Russia”.
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Echoing Jaishankar, Kumar reiterated that “the US decision is unfair, unreasonable and unjustified”, adding that the Indian government will continue taking measures to protect the national interest.
“Trade takes place on a commercial basis. So if the basis of commercial transactions is right, Indian companies will continue buying from wherever they get the best deal. So that’s what the current situation is,” he was quoted as saying by TASS.
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