'Navarro damaged relationship': US expert says Trump feels India denied him credit in Pak crisis
At the heart of the dispute is what Tellis described as Trump’s “deeper grievance”: a perceived lack of credit for helping to de-escalate the India-Pakistan conflict in May 2025.
- Sep 3, 2025,
- Updated Sep 3, 2025 7:03 AM IST
US-India relations have taken a sharp downturn, with strategic expert Ashley J. Tellis blaming Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro for “damaging” the bilateral equation, pushing New Delhi closer to America’s adversaries as fallout from sanctions over Russian oil purchases deepens.
Tellis, in an interview to NDTV, said Navarro has placed India “in a position where it is now cavorting with some of America’s enemies, because it has few other choices.” His remarks come amid escalating tensions over President Donald Trump’s imposition of secondary tariffs on India—now over 50%, the highest on Trump’s trade list apart from Brazil.
At the heart of the dispute is what Tellis described as Trump’s “deeper grievance”: a perceived lack of credit for helping to de-escalate the India-Pakistan conflict in May 2025. “I think he feels cheated,” Tellis said. “Prime Minister Modi’s call to set the record straight only inflamed the situation.”
Relations have further soured as US officials criticize India for continuing to import Russian crude. Despite China being a bigger buyer—$62.6 billion in 2024 compared to India’s $52.7 billion—Trump has zeroed in on New Delhi.
Navarro, in particular, has used combative language. Labeling India the “Maharaj of tariffs,” he accused it of running a “profiteering scheme” by refining and re-exporting Russian oil. “It’s a laundromat for the Kremlin,” Navarro claimed, dismissing India’s energy needs and framing the trade as a geopolitical betrayal.
Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, speaking in Moscow, pushed back. “We are perplexed by these US threats,” he said, noting that Washington had previously encouraged India to stabilize energy markets by purchasing Russian oil.
With distrust mounting, and trade penalties tightening, Tellis warned that Navarro’s hardline stance risks long-term strategic fallout between the world’s two largest democracies.
US-India relations have taken a sharp downturn, with strategic expert Ashley J. Tellis blaming Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro for “damaging” the bilateral equation, pushing New Delhi closer to America’s adversaries as fallout from sanctions over Russian oil purchases deepens.
Tellis, in an interview to NDTV, said Navarro has placed India “in a position where it is now cavorting with some of America’s enemies, because it has few other choices.” His remarks come amid escalating tensions over President Donald Trump’s imposition of secondary tariffs on India—now over 50%, the highest on Trump’s trade list apart from Brazil.
At the heart of the dispute is what Tellis described as Trump’s “deeper grievance”: a perceived lack of credit for helping to de-escalate the India-Pakistan conflict in May 2025. “I think he feels cheated,” Tellis said. “Prime Minister Modi’s call to set the record straight only inflamed the situation.”
Relations have further soured as US officials criticize India for continuing to import Russian crude. Despite China being a bigger buyer—$62.6 billion in 2024 compared to India’s $52.7 billion—Trump has zeroed in on New Delhi.
Navarro, in particular, has used combative language. Labeling India the “Maharaj of tariffs,” he accused it of running a “profiteering scheme” by refining and re-exporting Russian oil. “It’s a laundromat for the Kremlin,” Navarro claimed, dismissing India’s energy needs and framing the trade as a geopolitical betrayal.
Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, speaking in Moscow, pushed back. “We are perplexed by these US threats,” he said, noting that Washington had previously encouraged India to stabilize energy markets by purchasing Russian oil.
With distrust mounting, and trade penalties tightening, Tellis warned that Navarro’s hardline stance risks long-term strategic fallout between the world’s two largest democracies.