‘Brahmins profiteering off Indian people’: White House trade adviser Peter Navarro

White House Trade Adviser PeterNavarro, while talking about 50% tariff on imports from India, has said in an interview to Fox News on Monday (September 1, 2025), “Brahmins profiteering at the expense of the Indian people. We need that to stop.”

“Referring to India as “nothing but a laundromat for the Kremlin”, White House Trade Adviser, PeterNavarro, during an interview with Fox News on Monday (September 1, 2025), once again accused New Delhi of enabling trade imbalances and geopolitical alliances that run counter to U.S. interests.

“And on top of that, by the way, 25% or 50% is because India is the Maharaja of tariffs. They have the highest tariffs in the world. They won’t let us sell to them, so who gets hurt, workers in America, taxpayers in America… Ukrainians in cities are getting killed by Russian drones,” the White House Trade Adviser said.

“So, you know, look, Modi’s a great leader… But I don’t understand why he’s getting into bed with Putin and Xi Jinping…when he’s the leader of the biggest democracy in the world. I would just simply say to the Indian people. Please, understand what’s going on here. You’ve got Brahmins profiteering at the expense of the Indian people. We need that to stop,” he added.

His remarks followed Prime Minister Modi’s bilateral engagement with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday (August 31, 2025), on the sidelines of the SCO leaders’ summit, during which both leaders welcomed the positive momentum and steady progress in bilateral relations since their last meeting in Kazan on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in October 2024.

The statement comes as the world is grappling with U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which the U.S. Appeals Court has itself ruled as “illegal.”

This is not the first time that Mr. Navarro has made such remarks to justify Trump’s tariffs on India. Earlier on Friday, Mr. Navarro accused India of profiting from Russian oil in scalding remarks. “India’s Big Oil lobby has turned the largest democracy in the world into a massive refining hub and oil money laundromat for the Kremlin. Indian refiners buy cheap Russian oil, process it, and export fuels to Europe, Africa, and Asia – shielded from sanctions under the pretence of neutrality,” he said in a series of posts on X.