Trump’s Trade Adviser Expects Penalty Tariffs On India To Be Effective As Planned
Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro said he expects tariffs of 50 per cent on Indian imports to take effect as planned next week
Chennai: Chances of the US withdrawing its penalty tariffs on India look slim after the trade adviser of US President Donald Trump called India “Maharaja” of tariffs and “the laundromat of Kremlin” while stating that tariffs will take effect next week as planned.
Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro said he expects tariffs of 50 per cent on Indian imports to take effect as planned next week. "I see that taking place," Navarro told reporters outside the White House when asked about the 25 per cent punitive tariffs on India from August 27.
He also accused India of “perpetuating” the Ukraine war and running a "profiteering scheme" by continuing to import Russian 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 per cent...They don't need the oil. It's a refining profit-sharing scheme. It's a laundromat for the Kremlin. That's the reality of that," Navarro said.
The adviser was irked by India’s stand to keep buying Russian oil, strengthen its relationship with Russia and ease tensions with China in the past few days. "India doesn't appear to want to recognise its role in the bloodshed... It's cosying up to Xi Jinping...”, he said.
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar during his Moscow trip had said that India is "perplexed" by the US threats, as Washington itself had asked New Delhi to help stabilise global energy markets by buying Russian oil.
India is the second largest buyer of Russian oil after China and has increased its purchases since the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Besides China, Turkey, European Union Brazil, Singapore, Hungary, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Slovakia have purchased Russian oil since January 2023. However, India was singled out with punitive tariffs.
While India’s imports of Russian crude have come down by 25 per cent month-on-month in July and Russian share of India’s seaborne crude dropped from 45 per cent in June to 34 per cent in July, India is still buying oil from Russia and at least 45 million barrels of Russian crude are still enroute to India, according to Kpler. The Indian government has not asked the state-run oil companies to stop buying Russian oil.
