Navarro Warns India Over Russian Oil After Trump’s 25% Tariff Hike

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro accused India of undermining international efforts to isolate Moscow by ramping up purchases of discounted Russian crude. In an opinion column published in the Financial Times on Monday, Navarro called the buying spree “opportunistic and deeply corrosive,” arguing that India’s oil lobby is “funding Putin’s war machine” and must halt its imports. Navarro warned that Washington’s readiness to share cutting-edge military technology with New Delhi is at risk, saying that if India “wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the U.S., it needs to start acting like one.” He added that closer energy and security ties between India, Russia and China raise questions about the transfer of sensitive U.S. capabilities. The rebuke follows President Donald Trump’s decision earlier this month to slap an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, doubling the overall levy to 50%. U.S. trade negotiators have since cancelled talks that had been scheduled for later this month, clouding prospects for a broader trade accord between the two countries. Traders said crude futures, which had been lower, flipped into positive territory after headlines on Navarro’s remarks, underscoring market sensitivity to any curbs on Russian supply flows.