White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro has said that the additional 25 per cent tariff imposed on India is a " national security issue " connected to New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil.
Last week, US President Donald Trump had announced a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian goods, which came into effect on August 7. On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order imposing an additional 25 per cent levy, raising the total duties on Indian goods to 50 per cent, which is among the highest placed on any country by the US.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Wednesday, Navarro said the new tariff was different from the earlier one.
"This was a pure national security issue associated with India’s abject refusal to stop buying Russian oil," he said. He also said, "every American needs to understand the math of this because it is related to the trade situation."
Navarro added, "You start with the fact that India is the ‘maharaja’ of tariffs, it’s the highest tariffs in the world charging on American products, and it’s got a high non-tariff barrier so we can’t get our products in."
He claimed that the US sends dollars to India in an “unfair trade environment” to buy Indian goods, and India then uses those dollars to buy Russian oil. According to Navarro, Russia uses the American dollars to fund its military, which is then used in the war against Ukraine.
“India then uses American dollars to buy Russian oil. Russia then uses those American dollars that come from India to finance its armaments, to kill Ukrainians, and American taxpayers are then called upon to pay for the weapons that have to defend Ukraine against Russian armaments paid for by American dollars that came from India,” he said.
Navarro stated, "That math does not work. The president understands the connection between economic security and national security so that was the bottom line there."
When asked why China, which imports more Russian oil than India, has not been targeted similarly, Navarro said, "As the boss says, let's see what happens. Keep in mind that we have over 50 per cent tariffs on China already…so we don't want to get to a point where we actually hurt ourselves."
Last week, US President Donald Trump had announced a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian goods, which came into effect on August 7. On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order imposing an additional 25 per cent levy, raising the total duties on Indian goods to 50 per cent, which is among the highest placed on any country by the US.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Wednesday, Navarro said the new tariff was different from the earlier one.
"This was a pure national security issue associated with India’s abject refusal to stop buying Russian oil," he said. He also said, "every American needs to understand the math of this because it is related to the trade situation."
White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro on Trump raising tariffs on India: "This was a pure national security issue associated with India's abject refusal to stop buying Russian oil." pic.twitter.com/5ncMDkHGpy
— CSPAN (@cspan) August 6, 2025
Navarro added, "You start with the fact that India is the ‘maharaja’ of tariffs, it’s the highest tariffs in the world charging on American products, and it’s got a high non-tariff barrier so we can’t get our products in."
He claimed that the US sends dollars to India in an “unfair trade environment” to buy Indian goods, and India then uses those dollars to buy Russian oil. According to Navarro, Russia uses the American dollars to fund its military, which is then used in the war against Ukraine.
“India then uses American dollars to buy Russian oil. Russia then uses those American dollars that come from India to finance its armaments, to kill Ukrainians, and American taxpayers are then called upon to pay for the weapons that have to defend Ukraine against Russian armaments paid for by American dollars that came from India,” he said.
Navarro stated, "That math does not work. The president understands the connection between economic security and national security so that was the bottom line there."
When asked why China, which imports more Russian oil than India, has not been targeted similarly, Navarro said, "As the boss says, let's see what happens. Keep in mind that we have over 50 per cent tariffs on China already…so we don't want to get to a point where we actually hurt ourselves."
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