US President Donald Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro escalated his attack on India on Monday, alleging that New Delhi is "keeping the highest tariffs" even as negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement are ongoing.
His comments come despite both Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi having lately emphasized the strategic value of the India-US relationship.
During an interview with CNBC, Navarro was questioned regarding the state of the current talks. He said, "Indian refiners got in bed with the Russian refiners immediately after the invasion, and they're making out like bandits. It's crazy stuff, because they made money off of us in unfair trade. Then they use that money to buy Russian oil, and then the Russians use that to buy weapons, and then we as taxpayers have to pay more for this, for the defence of Ukraine. And so how can that be?"
Navarro also raised the issue of India’s energy trade with Russia, alleging that New Delhi’s refiners were profiting from global disruptions. "InIndian refiners got into bed with the Russian refiners right after the invasion, and they're raking it in. It's bizarre stuff, because they profited off of us in unequal trade. Then they take that and use it to purchase Russian oil, then the Russians use that to purchase weapons, then we as taxpayers end up paying more for this, for defence of Ukraine. And so how can that be?"
Referring to the Prime Minister Modi's presence with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin at recent SCO summit, Navarro said, ".and seeing Modi on the stage with China, which has been its longtime existential threat, and Putin - that was an interesting stretch, I don't think he felt comfortable doing."
This is not the first time Navarro has taken aim at India. He has previously labeled the country the “maharaja of tariffs,” accusing it of indirectly funding Russia’s war against Ukraine through crude oil purchases. He has even described the situation as “Modi’s war” due to India’s continued imports of Russian oil.
In the meantime, trade talks are to resume. The US Assistant Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch is arriving in India late Monday to discuss the much-delayed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), a commerce ministry official confirmed.
The sixth round of negotiations, scheduled for August 25–29, has been put off after the US announced 50% tariffs on Indian exports. The announcement has been made after five previous rounds of negotiations. "Tomorrow's talks will be a precursor to the sixth round of negotiations," the official added.
Lynch, responsible for American trade policy in 15 countries in South and Central Asia, also chairs the US-India Trade Policy Forum (TPF) and coordinates several Trade and Investment Framework Agreements (TIFAs) with regional allies.
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