Navarro said India refines discounted Russian oil and resells it at a premium, fuelling Russia’s war machine.
He dubbed India the “Maharaja of tariffs” and accused Brahmins of profiteering “at the expense of Indian people.”
India defended its policy as guided by market conditions and national security, pointing to Western trade with Russia.
Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has dismissed White House trade adviser Peter Navarro's 'laundromat' remark, asserting that India has not violated any rules in purchasing Russian oil and its energy trade since the Ukraine war has helped stabilise global markets and keep prices in check.
In a signed article for The Hindu, Puri rejected claims of profiteering, saying India has long been the world's fourth-largest exporter of petroleum products, well before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and its export volumes and margins have remained broadly the same
Peter Navarro had renewed his sharp criticism of India’s purchase of Russian oil, calling New Delhi “nothing but a laundromat for the Kremlin” and accusing Brahmins of profiteering from the trade. His remarks come as U.S. President Donald Trump maintains a 50% tariff on Indian goods, citing the need to curb funding for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
In an interview with Fox News, Navarro argued that before Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, India imported only negligible amounts of Russian crude. Since then, he said, Moscow has offered India steep discounts, allowing refiners to process the oil and sell products to Europe, Africa, and Asia at a premium.
“What happens is Putin gives Modi a discount on crude. They refine it, ship it globally, and make a ton of money. That fuels the Russian war machine. India is nothing but a laundromat for the Kremlin,” Navarro said.
According to the Hindu, Navarro also targeted India’s trade policies, branding New Delhi the “Maharaja of tariffs.”
“They export to us but won’t let us sell to them. Workers in America suffer, Ukrainians get killed by Russian drones, and Brahmins profit at the expense of their own people,” he said.
Though he described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “great leader,” Navarro questioned why the head of the “world’s biggest democracy” was, in his words, “getting into bed with Putin and Xi Jinping.”
According to Hindustan Times, This is not Navarro’s first broadside against New Delhi. He has previously referred to the Ukraine conflict as “Modi’s war” and labelled India an “oil money laundromat.” His repeated remarks underscore rising friction in U.S.-India ties, even as Washington continues to call its partnership with New Delhi a “defining relationship.
