‘It’s going to have a cost’: Analysts on how Trump advisor Peter Navarro rubbed India the wrong way

If India-US relations are in tatters, a significant part of the blame lies with Peter Navarro, an advisor to US President Donald Trump. Navarro’s acrid remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ‘Brahmins profiting’ comments, and his statements calling India ‘the maharaja of tariffs’ have done irreparable damage.

Now, experts believe Navarro’s attacks in particular could trigger an increase in anti-American sentiment in India, and not without consequences. “This is not a situation which the current decision-makers in India are used to,” Pankaj Saran, India’s former deputy national security adviser, told the Washington Post. “It’s going to have a cost,” he added.

Other analysts agree. According to Chietigj Bajpaee, a senior research fellow for South Asia at Chatham House, Navarro’s statements have “really rubbed New Delhi the wrong way,” which could prompt New Delhi to reduce cooperation with the US in key areas, including defense.

The Post also reported that even US officials within the administration feel that Navarro’s comments are  “unhelpful” but that he is “not actually involved” in negotiations with India.

Many believe Navarro is acting as a soldier of Trump. “Navarro is acting as Trump's mouthpiece on India. This is keeping Trump happy, and at the same time, he can distance himself from Navarro's remarks," says Sumit Ganguly, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, told The Quint.

An eccentric character, Navarro was criticised by Trump’s friend-turned-foe Elon Musk, who went on to call the former “dumber than a sack of bricks”. Musk was in the forefront of attacking Navarro’s policies on tariff.

Trade talks continues

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer approached President Trump with a proposed Indian trade deal, which the President rejected, the Post report added.

The report, quoting an unnamed source, said the centerpiece of the proposal was an Indian offer to significantly reduce its tariffs on U.S. goods, but Trump declined to approve that unless India cut down on purchases of Russian oil.