New Delhi: US President Donald Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro on Monday criticised India's crude oil imports from Russia, calling the move "opportunistic" and warning that if India "wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the US, it needs to start acting like one".
In an opinion piece in the Financial Times, Navarro alleged that India was "now cosying up to both Russia and China" and argued that New Delhi's Russian crude purchases must stop as they were financing Moscow's war in Ukraine.
His comments come ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month, even as Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi visits New Delhi for talks on the disputed border. "This two-pronged policy will hit India where it hurts-its access to US markets - even as it seeks to cut off the financial lifeline it has extended to Russia's war effort," Navarro wrote.
He said India's reliance on Russian crude was "opportunistic and deeply corrosive of global efforts to isolate Putin's war economy".
The remarks assume significance as US trade negotiators have postponed their planned August 25-29 visit for the sixth round of Bilateral Trade Agreement talks, the first tranche of which is targeted for conclusion by autumn.
Trump has already imposed a 50% tariff on Indian goods, including a 25% penal levy for continued purchases of Russian oil, despite the external affairs ministry's assertion that India is being unfairly singled out while the US and EU continue to source energy from Moscow.
While the 25% tariff on Indian goods entering the US took effect on August 7, the additional 25%, announced as penalty for crude and defence imports from Russia, will kick in on August 27. "India acts as a global clearing house for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs," Navarro wrote, adding that it was risky to transfer cutting-edge US military capabilities to a country "cosying up to both Russia and China".
In an opinion piece in the Financial Times, Navarro alleged that India was "now cosying up to both Russia and China" and argued that New Delhi's Russian crude purchases must stop as they were financing Moscow's war in Ukraine.
His comments come ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month, even as Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi visits New Delhi for talks on the disputed border. "This two-pronged policy will hit India where it hurts-its access to US markets - even as it seeks to cut off the financial lifeline it has extended to Russia's war effort," Navarro wrote.
He said India's reliance on Russian crude was "opportunistic and deeply corrosive of global efforts to isolate Putin's war economy".
The remarks assume significance as US trade negotiators have postponed their planned August 25-29 visit for the sixth round of Bilateral Trade Agreement talks, the first tranche of which is targeted for conclusion by autumn.
Trump has already imposed a 50% tariff on Indian goods, including a 25% penal levy for continued purchases of Russian oil, despite the external affairs ministry's assertion that India is being unfairly singled out while the US and EU continue to source energy from Moscow.
While the 25% tariff on Indian goods entering the US took effect on August 7, the additional 25%, announced as penalty for crude and defence imports from Russia, will kick in on August 27. "India acts as a global clearing house for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs," Navarro wrote, adding that it was risky to transfer cutting-edge US military capabilities to a country "cosying up to both Russia and China".
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