‘Maharaj’ in tariffs: White House Trade Adviser Navarro criticises India over Russian oil

India is a “Maharaj” in tariffs and it is running a “profiteering scheme” by using discounted Russian crude oil, White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro has said, in yet another sharp criticism of New Delhi.

Mr. Navarro’s comments came on a day External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar responded to criticism of India by American officials for its energy ties with Russia and said the U.S. itself had asked New Delhi to help stabilise global energy markets by buying Russian oil.

The White House Trade Adviser also talked about how India is “cosying up to” Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The relations between New Delhi and Washington are on a downturn after U.S. President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50%, including 25% additional duties for India's purchase of Russian crude oil.

“Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, India virtually bought no Russian oil... It was like almost one per cent of their need. The percentage has now gone up to 35%,” Mr. Navarro told reporters in the U.S.

Mr. Navarro's fresh attack on India came three days after he wrote a piece in the Financial Times slamming the country for its procurement of Russian crude oil.

He said the argument that India needs Russian oil to meet its energy requirements does not make any sense.

“They get cheap Russian oil and make refined products which they sell at premium prices in Europe, Africa and Asia,” he said, adding “it is purely profiteering by the Indian refining industry.”

“What is the net impact on Americans because of our trade with India? They are Maharaj in tariff. (We have) higher non-tariff barriers, massive trade deficit etc — and that hurts American workers and American businesses,” he said.

“The money they get from us, they use it to buy Russian oil, which then is processed by their refiners,” he said.

“The Russians use the money to build arms and kill Ukrainians and American tax-payers have to provide more aid and military hardware to Ukrainians. That’s insane,” he added.

“India does not want to recognise its role in the bloodshed,” he said, adding India is running a “profiteering” scheme.

Though the U.S. imposed an additional 25% tariff on India for its energy ties with Russia, it has not initiated similar actions against China, the largest buyer of Russian crude oil.

Defending its purchase of Russian crude oil, India has been maintaining that its energy procurement is driven by national interest and market dynamics.

Also read: India’s purchase of Russian crude funding war in Ukraine, has to stop: U.S. trade adviser Navarro

India turned to purchasing Russian oil sold at a discount after Western countries imposed sanctions on Moscow and shunned its supplies over its invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022.

Consequently, from a mere 1.7% share in total oil imports in 2019-20, Russia’s share increased to 35.1% in 2024-25, and it is now the biggest oil supplier to India.