White House trade adviser and US President Donald Trump adviser Peter Navarro has claimed that US residents are allegedly paying for artificial intelligence (AI) services provided by companies in India, according to a phone interview with former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.
Peter Navarro questioned why Americans should pay for AI services that are being built and run domestically to serve clients in India, China and other countries. The business advisor also highlighted the risk of an increase in inflation driven by foreign entities operating in the United States.
“Why are Americans paying for AI in India? ChatGPT operating on American soil, using American electricity, serving large users of the company, for example in India and China and elsewhere around the world. That’s another issue that needs to be addressed, and don’t forget that there are water and farmland issues,” said Peter Navarro during his interaction with Steve Bannon on the “Real America Voice” show.
Inflation risk
Peter Navarro also said that foreign entities buying land ownership in America pose a risk of increasing inflation in the US economy, as these buyers reportedly pay 10 times more for agricultural land, a move that may fuel domestic food prices in the country.
“(Foreign entities) come in and pay 10x for farmland, and if we want to fight food inflation, then we have to wrap our heads around that,” Peter Navarro said.
U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation data for the 12-month period ending in December 2025 was 2.7%, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released earlier this month. Figures for November 2025 also showed that inflation was at 2.7%.
The Mint previously said U.S. inflation was at 3% for the 12-month period ending September 2025.
Peter Navarro’s tirade against India comes amid furious 50% tariffs on all Indian imports into the United States and delays over a potential Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) deal between the two nations.
About Indian Customs
On September 8, 2025, Peter Navarro called India a country that is a “tariff maharaja” and how the country should get to some stage in trade negotiations with the United States amid Trump’s raging tariff war.
An aide to Donald Trump described India as a ‘Maharaja’ of tariffs, saying: “It’s absolutely true. They have the highest tariffs against the United States of any major country in the world. We have to deal with that.”
“I think India has to come at some point. And if they don’t, they’re going to lie down with Russia and China, and that’s not going to end well for India,” Navarro said in an interview on the ‘Real America’s Voice’ show.
