Trump adviser claims India is Kremlin ‘laundromat’

Refiners in the Asian nation are profiteering from Russian oil and perpetuating the Ukraine conflict, Peter Navarro has alleged

India does not need to import Russian oil and is behaving like a “laundromat” for the Kremlin, US President Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro has claimed.

Talking to reporters on Thursday, Navarro said he expects 25% punitive tariffs on Indian imports to take effect as planned on August 27 due to the South Asian nation's continued oil purchases from Russia. 

Navarro’s comments came hours after Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said New Delhi is “perplexed” with the logic of the US tariffs. 

“Prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, India virtually bought no Russian oil,” Navarro said. “It was like almost 1% of their need. The percentage has now gone up to 35%... 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.”

The trade adviser, who called India a “tariff Maharaja” earlier this week, claimed the South Asian nation’s purchase of Russian oil is not leading to peace in Ukraine. “India doesn’t appear to want to recognize its role in the bloodshed,” Navarro added. “It simply doesn’t. It’s cozying up to [Chinese President] Xi Jinping.”