MUMBAI, 30 November 2006 — Hurdles to civilian nuclear trade between the United States and India could be removed by May if the two houses of US Congress jointly approve the deal within the next week, Washington’s envoy to India said yesterday.
Separate legislations that allow Washington to sell nuclear fuel and equipment to energy-hungry India have been endorsed by the US House of Representatives and the Senate.
The two bills now need to be merged and jointly approved by the two chambers before President George W. Bush signs it but India is worried about several certification conditions in them and moves are afoot to get them removed. Negotiations to reconcile the bills and approve them are expected next month in the “lame duck” Republican-led Congress which surrenders power to the Democrats in January.
“If that (reconciliation) happens it will happen in the next 4-5 days and that will finally mean a change in the law,” ambassador David Mulford told Reuters. “I would imagine all crucial components of the rolling process would be in place by May.” The deal aims to overturn a three-decade ban on nuclear trade between the US and India which has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has tested nuclear weapons.
Besides joint approval by the two chambers, the deal also needs agreement on a bilateral pact between the two governments, and the backing of the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The deal has been slammed by a vocal nonproliferation lobby in the United States which says the agreement allows New Delhi to expand its nuclear weapons arsenal and would foster an arms race among India, Pakistan and China. Mulford, speaking on the sidelines of a India-US business summit, said the debate on the nuclear deal signaled America’s awareness that New Delhi was a critical partner of Washington.
