US adviser says Ukraine conflict is ‘Modi’s war’, offers 25% tariff cut if India halts trade with Russia

US President Donald Trump’s whopping 50% tariffs on India came into effect on Wednesday. Soon after, White House trade advisor Peter Navarro  remarked that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is ‘Modi’s war’,  in an attempt to pressure India to halt Russian oil trade.

In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Navarro said, “I mean Modi’s war because the road to peace runs, in part, through New Delhi.”

He also offered India 25% cut in tariffs if it stops buying Russian oil and feeds the war machine.

“Everybody in America loses because of what India is doing. The consumers and businesses and everything lose, and workers lose because India's high tariffs cost us jobs, factories, and income and higher wages. And then the taxpayers lose because we have to fund Modi’s war,” Navarro told the media.

The United States has imposed a 50% reciprocal duty on India, the highest for any Asian country. The move will impact over 55% of Indian exports to the US, India’s largest overseas market. While critical sectors like electronics and pharmaceuticals have been spared for the moment, the tariff has hit several labour-intensive industries such as textiles and jewellery.