White House Trade Adviser Says India Tariffs Can Drop If It ‘Stops Buying Russian Oil’

The Washington Post

15:54 JST, August 28, 2025

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Wednesday ramped up pressure on India to discontinue purchasing Russian oil, while accusing the country of funding Russia’s war in Ukraine and harming American taxpayers.

“India can get 25 percent off tomorrow if it stops buying Russian oil and helping to feed the war machine,” Navarro said during an interview on Bloomberg TV.

When India buys Russian oil “at a discount,” Navarro continued, “Russia uses the money it gets to fund its war machine, kill more Ukrainians. And then the next thing that happens, of course, is Ukraine comes to us and Europe and says give us some more money.”

President Donald Trump announced earlier this month that he would double the 25 percent tariff on Indian goods, a longtime U.S. ally, as penalty for “directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil.” The initial 25 percent tariff went into effect Aug. 7, and the 50 percent levy against India – the world’s fifth-largest economy and one of the United States’ largest trading partners – took effect Wednesday.

“Everybody in America loses because of what India is doing. The consumers and businesses and everything lose, and workers lose because India’s high tariffs cost us jobs, and factories, and income and higher wages. And then the taxpayers lose because we got to fund Modi’s war,” Navarro said, referring to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The road to peace runs in part through New Delhi,” Navarro added.

Trump and administration officials have hardened their criticism toward India in recent weeks, accusing India of hurting American workers. The new tariffs against India could have devastating effects on the country’s economy, severely affecting India’s furniture, textile and gem industries, among others, according to a report by the Global Trade Research Initiative.

The punitive levy could also drive a rift between the U.S. and India, pushing Modi to court warmer relationships with members of the BRICS coalition, which includes China, Russia, Brazil and South Africa. Modi will also visit China at the end of this month, his first visit to the country in seven years.