'Not About Ukraine At All': US House Democrats Slam Trump For 'Sabotaging' Ties By Targeting India, Ignoring China On Russian Oil

Democrat party members on the key US House Foreign Affairs Committee have lambasted President Donald Trump's imposition of 50 per cent tariffs on Indian imports.

They accused Trump of unfairly targeting India over its purchases of Russian oil while ignoring larger buyers like China.

The key US Congressional panel also questioned the motive behind Trump's move which is "sabotaging" relationship with democratic partner like India, saying it may not be about "Ukraine at all".

In a statement, the committee suggested the move is not truly aimed at pressuring Russia over Ukraine but risks damaging a key strategic partnership.

"Instead of imposing sanctions on China or others purchasing larger amounts of Russian oil, Trump's singling out India with tariffs, hurting Americans & sabotaging the US-India relationship in the process," the statement said.

"It's almost like it's not about Ukraine at all," they added.

The statement came amid Washington imposing a steep 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods, effective 27 August, covering exports worth over $48 billion.

The sectors expected to be hit hardest include textiles and clothing, gems and jewellery, shrimp, leather and footwear, animal products, chemicals, and electrical and mechanical machinery, NDTV reported.

This comes as US President Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro has launched a scathing attack on India, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of fuelling Russia’s war in Ukraine through discounted crude purchases and “double game” trade policies.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Navarro claimed India’s actions amounted to “Modi’s war”.

“If India stops buying Russian oil, it can get 25 per cent off tomorrow,” he said.

“What’s troubling to me is that Modi is a great leader, India is a mature democracy, and yet they look us bald-faced in the eye and say they don’t have the highest tariffs in the world, when in fact they do. Then they say we’re not going to stop buying Russian oil," he said.

"Now what does that mean? Russia uses the money it gets to fund its war machine, kill more Ukrainians, and then Ukraine comes to us and Europe and says give us more money. So American taxpayers lose because we’ve got to fund Modi’s war,” he added.

Navarro further alleged that Indian refiners were profiting from cheap Russian crude. “When India buys Russian oil at a discount and then Indian refiners, in partnership with Russian refiners, sell it at a premium to the rest of the world, everybody in America loses,” he said. “The road to peace runs at least partly through New Delhi’s war. I mean, Modi war.”

Dismissing India’s sovereignty claims, he added: “India, you’re the biggest democracy in the world. Act like one. Side with the democracies. You’re getting in bed with the authoritarians. China invaded Aksai Chin and all your territory. These are not your friends, folks.”

India pushed back strongly. External affairs minister S Jaishankar said it was “perplexing” to target India when China and the EU remain Russia’s largest buyers. He called the tariffs “extremely unfortunate” and vowed to “take all actions necessary to protect national interests.”

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Also Read: India Says It Won’t Stop Buying Russian Oil — Trump’s Top Advisor Confirms Modi Govt's Defiant Stand