White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro has alleged that India is “cosying up” to Chinese President Xi Jinping while serving as a “laundromat for the Kremlin” by refining discounted Russian crude and selling it globally at a premium.
Speaking on Thursday, Navarro argued that this practice allows Moscow to finance its war in Ukraine, while New Delhi profits from the arrangement. “India doesn’t appear to want to recognise its role in the bloodshed… They don’t need the oil. It’s a refining profiteering scheme. It’s a laundromat for the Kremlin,” he said.
Despite his criticism, Navarro praised India’s leadership, stressing that “the road to peace runs through New Delhi.”
His remarks come amid heightened debate in Washington over India’s energy ties with Russia. Before the Ukraine war, India imported less than 1% of its crude from Moscow, but the figure now stands at 35–40%. Navarro noted, “The argument that somehow they need Russian oil is nonsense… They buy cheap Russian crude, refine it, and sell products at premium rates into Europe, Africa and Asia.”
The Biden administration recently imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods—a combination of a 10% baseline duty, a 25% reciprocal tariff, and an additional 25% linked to India’s Russian oil imports. Navarro defended the move, calling India’s trade practices “Maharaja tariffs and higher non-tariff barriers” that contribute to a “massive US trade deficit” and undermine American workers.
His comments follow former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley’s appeal to strengthen ties with India, warning that undermining the partnership would be a “strategic disaster.” Renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs has also criticised the tariffs as “self-destructive,” warning they could damage years of progress in US-India relations and strengthen BRICS unity.
India has strongly rebutted Washington’s criticism. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar argued that the US itself had encouraged India to stabilise global energy markets through Russian oil purchases. “We are not the biggest purchaser of Russian oil—that is China. We are not the biggest LNG buyer—that is the European Union. We act based on market factors and the energy security of 1.4 billion Indians,” he said.
The Ministry of External Affairs reiterated that New Delhi will take “all actions necessary to protect its national interests,” calling the new US tariffs “extremely unfortunate” given that other nations continue to import Russian energy.
Meanwhile, Russian officials have dismissed Washington’s tariff measures as “unjustified and unilateral,” while President Vladimir Putin recently noted that bilateral trade between Moscow and New Delhi has grown by 20% since Trump returned to office.
