Navarro renews attack on Delhi, asks why Americans paying for AI in India

White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro has renewed his criticism of India, questioning why Americans are paying for Artificial Intelligence in India.

Mr. Navarro’s comments on Saturday (January 17, 2026) came amid a strain in India-U.S. ties, which began after U.S. President Donald Trump slapped a 50% tariff on New Delhi, including a 25% additional duty for its purchase of Russian crude oil.

In an interview on Real America’s Voice, Mr. Navarro said,”…It’s like, why are Americans paying for AI in India? Chat GPT (is) operating on U.S. soil, using American electricity, servicing large users of Chat GPT, for example, in India and China and elsewhere around the world. So that’s another issue that’s got to be dealt with.”

His comments came as ties between New Delhi and Washington are reeling under strain on several other issues apart from tariffs, including Mr. Trump’s claim of ending the India-Pakistan conflict in May last year and Washington’s new immigration policy.

Last year, Mr. Navarro consistently ranted against India for Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil and high tariffs, calling India the “Maharajah of tariffs.”

He had also termed India’s purchases of Russian oil as “blood money” and said Delhi didn’t buy oil from Moscow in large quantities before the Ukraine conflict.

New Delhi has maintained that, like any major economy, it will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security.

In a diatribe targeting the BRICS nations, Mr. Navarro had said the “bottom line” is that none of the countries in the grouping can “survive if they don’t sell to the United States. And when they sell to the United States, their exports, they’re like vampires sucking our blood dry with their unfair trade practices.”