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Peter Navarro continues India tirade after Trump tariffs: 'Largest democracy turned oil money laundromat'
Peter Navarro claimed that an oil lobby has turned the largest democracy of the world "into a massive refining hub and oil money laundromat for the Kremlin".
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro continues to justify US President Donald Trump's 50% tariffs on Indian imports, even as the heavy duties have come into force. Despite India's assertions on oil trade with Russia, Navarro repeatedly attacks New Delhi for continuing the trade, this time repeating his "laundromat" charge.
In a series of tweets on Friday, Navarro tried to defend the US's tariff move against India, and went on to claim an oil lobby has turned the largest democracy in the world "into a massive refining hub and oil money laundromat for the Kremlin".
"Indian refiners buy cheap Russian oil, process it, and export fuels to Europe, Africa, and Asia—shielded from sanctions under the pretense of neutrality," Navarro wrote.
Many of the remarks he made in X thread were similar to the charges he levelled before, including that of India indirectly fueling the war in Ukraine.
He has long alleged that Russia uses the money it gets through selling oil to India, to fund the "war machine" in Ukraine. Alleging that India hiked its oil purchase from Russia to 30% now, from merely 1% before the invasion of Ukraine, Navarro wrote, "This surge isn’t driven by domestic demand—it's driven by Indian profiteers and carries an added price of blood and devastation in Ukraine."
He also accused India of using US dollars to buy discounted Russian crude. "American consumers buy Indian goods while India keeps out U.S. exports through high tariffs and non-tariff barriers," he wrote.
Not just oil trade, Navarro also targeted India over buying military equipment from Russia, calling the move a strategic "freeloading".
"India continues to buy Russian weapons—while demanding that US firms transfer sensitive military tech and build plants in India," he wrote.
These remarks are a latest in the series of such comments he has made in the past against India, like "Maharaja of tariffs", country "cozying up to Xi Jinping" and calling Russia-Ukraine conflict "Modi's war".
While Navarro continues to target India over Russian oil trade, New Delhi has clarified long back that its energy deals are guided by what is on offer in markets and prevailing global situation.
