US Congress approves US-India nuclear deal

Dec 9, 2006, 13:19 GMT

US Congress passed a bill early Saturday paving the way for landmark cooperation between the United States and India in the field of nuclear energy, overriding objections by arms control advocates opposed to the agreement.

Washington - US Congress passed a bill early Saturday paving the way for landmark cooperation between the United States and India in the field of nuclear energy, overriding objections by arms control advocates opposed to the agreement.

After the House of Representatives approved the bill late Friday night, the upper chamber, the bill then cleared the upper chamber, the Senate in the early hours of Saturday.

The bill now goes to President George W Bush for signing.

The legislation is a reversal of three decades of US policy in which there was a ban on civilian nuclear technology cooperation with India ever since that country tested a nuclear bomb in 1974 without having signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

During the debate, opponents to the bill cited the danger of an increasing likelihood that nuclear arms could fall into the hands of terrorists and escalate an arms race with Pakistan.

But supporters saud the plan would give a boost to strategic ties with India, which is emerging as a power in Asia and whose demand for energy is rising with the country's strong economic growth.

In talks last April, Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had agreed on plans for nuclear cooperation, but this required approval by Congress.

Both the House and Senate earlier this year approved different versions of a bill authorizing the nuclear deal, and a negotiating committee reconciled the bills on Thursday, setting up the vote overnight Friday.

The House vote of 330-59 for the bill was expected to be one of the last acts of the centre-right Republican-controlled body, which will cede control in January to a newly elected centre-left Democratic majority.

The legislation will allow the US to sell nuclear fuel and reactors to India despite New Delhi's refusal to participate in the NPT.

The Bloomberg business news agency reported that two firms, General Electric and Westinghouse Electric, were waiting in the wings to supply India with equipment, fuel and reactors once the bill had been enacted.

Existing US law does not allow transfers of nuclear technology to countries that have not signed the NPT, and Congress had sought assurances that the deal will not help India's nuclear weapons programme.

India paved the way for an agreement in March by agreeing to separate its civilian and weapons programmes, complying with Congressional demands.

US President George W Bush has strongly backed the deal - first proposed in the summer of 2005 - and made it a priority for legislation to be passed before the end of the year.

The landmark nuclear deal signified the burgeoning ties that have developed between the United States and India after decades of frosty relations during the Cold War, when New Delhi was friendly with the Soviet Union.

Prior to the bill going to vote, a Senate requirement for a monitoring system to ensure that no US nuclear exports to India were diverted to military use was changed.

The bill's final text only said that the agreement was contingent on assurances by the president that India was taking 'appropriate measures (to) ... maintain accountability.'

In addition, a condition that India join international efforts to sanction Iran was softened to a requirement that the White House should report to Congress about India's efforts in that regard.

The debate in the House of Representatives reflected both the fears and the sense of opportunity from US-Indian cooperation in the nuclear field.

Among the opponents, Democratic representative Edward Markey from Massachusetts said 'This bill is a historic mistake that will come back to haunt the United States and the world.'

Markey said it was hypocritical for the United States to make an exception for India, which is not a member of the NPT, while pressuring the international community to forbid Iran, which is a member of the NPT, to develop civilian nuclear power.

He cited research that projected India, which now constructs an estimated seven nuclear bombs a year, will boost its production to 40 to 50 bombs a year. He said that Pakistan is building a new facility to increase its production from the current estimated two to three warheads a year to 40 or 50 warheads.

'The Pakistanis and Iranians are not going to sit on their hands (while) Americans preach temperance from their bar stool,' Markey said.

But Tom Lantos, a Democrat from California, welcomed the agreement, saying it would 'be of immense importance to global security and economic development, while at the same time furthering our interests in limiting the spread of nuclear weapons.'

After US approval of the nuclear cooperation, two further steps are required. First, India must reach an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency on establishing international inspections.

In addition, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a 45-nation forum dedicated to limiting the spread of atomic weapons, must also give its approval.