The White House has doubled down on its justification for imposing a steep 50 per cent tariff on Indian imports, framing the move as a matter of US national security rather than simple trade retaliation. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump’s trade adviser, Peter Navarro, said the decision was driven by India’s refusal to halt purchases of Russian oil.
“This was a pure national security issue associated with India’s abject refusal to stop buying Russian oil,” Navarro said, stressing that the rationale was different from reciprocal tariffs aimed at addressing market imbalances. He argued that India imposes some of the highest tariffs in the world, calling it the “maharaja of tariffs”, along with non-tariff barriers that keep American products out.
According to Navarro, US dollars spent on Indian goods are then used by New Delhi to buy Russian oil. “Russia then uses those American dollars…to finance its armaments, to kill Ukrainians, and American taxpayers are then called upon to pay for the weapons to defend Ukraine against Russian armaments paid for by American dollars that came from India. That math does not work,” he said.
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India Rejects US Justification
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) dismissed the U.S. claims as “unjustified and unreasonable,” warning that New Delhi would take “all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security.” The MEA has repeatedly defended India’s oil imports from Russia as market-driven and essential to ensuring energy security for its 1.4 billion citizens.
Tariffs Among Highest In US Policy
On August 7, Trump signed an executive order adding a further 25 per cent levy on Indian imports to an earlier 25 per cent, bringing total duties to 50 per cent. The move places India alongside China, on which the US already imposes over 50 per cent tariffs on certain goods. Navarro cautioned against pushing tariffs to a level that might harm the US economy but insisted the India measures were necessary for security reasons.
Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller echoed Navarro’s stance, noting that India is one of the largest purchasers of Russian oil globally and “could easily access oil from many other markets.”
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The steep tariff hike threatens to disrupt billions of dollars in bilateral trade and has already led major US retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Target to pause orders from India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to chair a high-level Cabinet meeting on Friday to assess the potential damage to India’s exports.