Peter Navarro, trade advisor to US President Donald Trump and the brain behind Trump's tariff wars, has once again stirred controversy by needling India. This time by amplifying a rising MAGA-aligned narrative targeting India’s IT services exports to the US. While his earlier jabs at India were rooted in geopolitics and crude generalisations, including incendiary claims such as “Brahmins profiteering” from refined Russian oil or calling the Ukraine conflict “Modi’s war”, this latest endorsement of a call to “tariff foreign remote workers” suggests a potentially more adverse economic undercurrent.
MAGA's anti-India rhetoric evolves from H1B to remote work
Navarro recently retweeted a post by Jack Posobiec, a far-right commentator and ex-Navy intelligence officer, that demanded tariffs on foreign remote workers, arguing that outsourcing of services should be treated the same as the import of goods. Posobiec’s post reads: “Tariff the foreign remote workers. All outsourcing should be tariffed. Countries must pay for the privilege of providing services remotely to the US the same way as goods. Apply across
industries, leveled as necessary per country." While Posobiec did not name India, the US is the biggest importer of India's services exports, accounting for the largest share of demand for services like software, IT and professional services.
By amplifying this narrative, Navarro is effectively endorsing an idea that resonates deeply with Trump’s “America First” base -- that Indian tech workers, both onshore (via H1B visas) and offshore (via remote services), are a threat to American jobs.
The Trump administration previously made efforts to tighten the H1B visa regime, significantly impacting Indian tech workers who form the bulk of that visa category. However, the new front being opened here goes beyond immigration and touches the core of India’s IT exports, a multi-billion dollar industry that services Fortune 500 companies across sectors like banking, healthcare, retail and tech.
Why this matters
India is not just a labour exporter through H1B visas. It is a global hub for IT services and remote outsourcing. Indian firms like TCS, Infosys, Wipro and hundreds of smaller players provide mission-critical IT, cloud, data management and cybersecurity services to US companies. In fact, the US is India's largest market for IT and business process services, and the rise of Global Capability Centres (GCCs), set up by American multinationals in India, is proof of the deepening dependence on Indian talent.
Any move to curb this flow of remote services could deal a heavy blow to India’s $250+ billion IT services industry, not just through direct restrictions, but by chilling future contracts, increasing compliance costs or disincentivising companies from setting up offshore teams.
Not tariffs, but non-tariff barriers
Imposing tariffs on services is not straightforward. Tariffs, as defined under the rules of international trade, are applicable to goods, tangible products that cross physical borders. Services, especially digital or remote services like coding, design or customer support, don’t involve shipping goods across customs checkpoints.
But Posobiec's rhetoric endorsed by Navarro does not need to be legally precise to be politically effective. Even if formal tariffs are off the table, non-tariff barriers offer a potent alternative. The Trump administration, if it warms up to the idea promoted by Navarro, might consider imposing service taxes or levies on companies that outsource work abroad; tighten data localisation or cybersecurity regulations that penalise offshore services; scrutinise remote
contracts through the lens of national security, similar to how Chinese tech firms have been treated; pressure American firms via public campaigns or executive orders to "reshore" services, using propaganda and regulatory tools.
These tools could indirectly make Indian services more expensive or less attractive, achieving the same effect as a tariff.
Navarro’s endorsement of Posobiec’s “tariff remote workers” post is not just an offhand tweet. It signals a possible policy direction since Navarro is considered Trump's tariffs guru. It amplifies a long-simmering resentment among Trump’s base against Indian tech workers and outsourcing, but this time the target is not just immigration, but India’s entire service export model.
MAGA narrative may not derail India-US ties
In a statement on Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs has termed Navarro's previous statements on India as 'inaccurate and misleading'. Trump's aide has been making negative statements on the country. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We have seen the inaccurate and misleading statements made by Mr. Navarro, and obviously reject them."
On India-US relations, he said, "...there is a comprehensive global strategic partnership between the two countries, and we want to work on this partnership and take it forward." Terming India-US relations 'very important', he said that both the countries share a comprehensive global strategic partnership, which is anchored in their shared interests, democratic values, and robust people-to-people ties. "This partnership has weathered several
transitions and challenges. We remain focused on the substantive agenda that our two countries have committed to, and we hope that the relationship will continue to move forward based on mutual respect and shared interests," he added.
The Indian government appears to be hopeful that the radical MAGA stance against India, which has fed into Trump's tariff wars, will not impact India-US ties for long. Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that India and the US are in talks for a trade deal that could be finalised by November this year, further acknowledging that "a little bit of geopolitical" issues have overtaken the discussions.
Source Name : Economic Times