White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has renewed his criticism of India, warning that New Delhi must soften its stance in trade negotiations with the United States or risk facing serious repercussions.
In an interview on Monday, Navarro described India as the “Maharajah of tariffs,” alleging that the country imposes the highest duties among major economies on U.S. goods. He claimed the Indian government had been “overly sensitive” to his remarks but insisted the issue could no longer be ignored.
“They have the highest tariffs in any major country in the world against the United States. We got to deal with that,” Navarro said.
The adviser also raised concerns over India’s growing oil imports from Russia since the outbreak of the Ukraine war. “They never bought oil from Moscow before Russia invaded Ukraine, except for tiny drops. Then they went into profiteering with Russian refiners coming on to Indian soil. American taxpayers end up having to send more money for the conflict,” he alleged.
Navarro contrasted India’s stance with that of U.S. allies, pointing to trade deals signed with the European Union, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Indonesia. “All these countries are working very closely with us because they need American markets,” he said.
(This story is published from a syndicated feed)