Trump meets Zelenskiy, says Putin wants war to end, mulls trilateral talks
Investing.com -- U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade advisor Peter Navarro called on India Monday to stop purchasing Russian crude oil.
In an op-ed published in the Financial Times, Navarro characterized India’s reliance on Russian oil as "opportunistic" and stated that if India "wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the US, it needs to start acting like one."
"In effect, India acts as a global clearinghouse for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs," Navarro wrote.
The comments follow reports that trade negotiations between the U.S. and India, which were scheduled to take place in New Delhi later this month, have been canceled.
Earlier in August, the Trump administration announced plans to impose an additional 25% tariff on India over its Russian oil purchases, which would increase the total levies against the country to 50%.
India responded to the tariff announcement by calling it "extremely unfortunate" and describing the duties as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable."