11 September 2008
President Bush Sends U.S.-India Nuclear Accord to Congress
Final ratification by Congress is uncertain
Washington — President Bush asked the U.S. Congress to approve a civil nuclear agreement with India that would reverse more than three decades of U.S. policy, but would bring India's nuclear programs under international nonproliferation inspections.
"The proposed agreement provides a comprehensive framework for U.S. peaceful nuclear cooperation with India," Bush said in a letter to Congress September 10. "It permits the transfer of information, non-nuclear material, nuclear material, equipment (including reactors) and components for nuclear research and nuclear power production. It does not permit transfers of any restricted data."
Congress, by law, may take up to 30 working days after receiving the agreement from the White House to study, consider and vote on it. Passage in this session of Congress is uncertain because both houses are expected to adjourn at the end of September to return home to campaign for the November elections, though congressional leaders have been supportive of the civil nuclear agreement.
The agreement could make ample energy resources a more likely possibility with final approval. It would bring India into the nuclear nonproliferation mainstream; help India meet its growing energy needs while improving protection of the environment; and deepen the strategic partnership between many nations and India, Ambassador Gregory Schulte, the U.S. permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said recently.
The agreement would reverse three decades of U.S. policy by permitting the shipping of nuclear fuel to India in return for international inspections of India's civilian reactors.
The IAEA board of governors met August 1 in Vienna, Austria, to consider a draft safeguards agreement with India for its civilian nuclear energy development program. The safeguards agreement won final IAEA approval, and then a separate agreement was approved by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, which controls the trade of nuclear materials.
Congress had required both groups to approve the agreement before it considers final action. The U.S.-India nuclear initiative, known as a 123 Agreement, can be acted on only by the Congress. The United States and India completed negotiations on the agreement in 2007.
The nuclear accord would require India to open its civilian reactors to international inspections by the IAEA and give India access to the world market for nuclear fuel and technology, which it has been unable to do for more than 30 years. The three-step approval process was necessary because India is not a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Currently, India imports 75 percent of its oil, and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has argued that India needs a stronger investment in nuclear energy generation.
India has four operating nuclear power reactors under IAEA safeguards. Under the U.S.-India accord, India must separate its military and civilian activities and submit its entire civil program to international inspection.
India will place under voluntary safeguards a majority of its existing and planned nuclear power reactors — 14 of 22 — and all its future civil reactors. It is estimated that within a generation nearly 90 percent of India's reactors will be under IAEA safeguards.
And the agreement between the United States and India would remain in force for a period of 40 years and will continue in force for additional periods of 10 years each unless either country gives notice to terminate it six months before the end of a period. The agreement can be terminated before its expiration on a year's written notice.
"The agreement will reinforce the growing bilateral relationship between two vibrant democracies. The United States is committed to a strategic partnership with India, the agreement promises to be a major milestone in achieving and sustaining that goal," Bush said.
Bush will meet with Singh at the White House on September 25 to discuss the agreement and other areas of cooperation, such as agriculture, education, trade and defense, White House press secretary Dana Perino said September 11.
Singh praised the news of the approval from the Nuclear Suppliers Group, saying, "This is a forward-looking and momentous decision. It marks the end of India's decades-long isolation from the nuclear mainstream and of the technology denial regime," according to news media reports.
