White House trade advisor Peter Navarro has issued a sharp warning to India, urging New Delhi to “come around” on trade negotiations with the United States or face consequences.
Speaking on Real America’s Voice, Navarro accused India of hiding behind what he called the “Maharajah of tariffs,” citing India’s high duties on American goods. “They have the highest tariffs in any major country in the world against the United States. We got to deal with that,” he said.
Navarro also criticised India’s increasing energy imports from Russia, arguing that New Delhi had shifted from negligible purchases of Russian crude before the Ukraine war to “profiteering” off discounted oil. “American taxpayers end up having to send more money for the conflict,” he claimed.
Comparing India to US allies such as the EU, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Indonesia, Navarro said those nations had moved closer to Washington via trade deals. “If India doesn’t come around, it’s laying down with Russia and China — and that won’t end well for India,” he warned.
The comments come days after President Donald Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian imports, doubling the overall duty to 50%. The White House framed the move as punishment for India’s continued energy ties with Moscow, while talks on a broader trade deal remain stalled.
Navarro also lashed out at the BRICS bloc, now expanded to 10 members after Indonesia’s entry in 2025, calling their economies “vampires sucking our blood dry” through unfair trade practices. He predicted the bloc would collapse without access to the US market.
His remarks triggered a backlash online, with X’s (formerly Twitter) Community Notes fact-checking a previous post where he accused India of “feeding the Russia war machine.” The fact-check led to a public spat with Elon Musk, who defended the feature, saying: “Community Notes corrects everyone, no exceptions.”
