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Australia Backs Changes to Nuclear Export Rules
From Thursday, March 29, 2007 issue.
Australia plans to support changes to international nuclear export control guidelines that would enable India to acquire nuclear technology even though it is not a member of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said today (see GSN, Sept. 25, 2006). The 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group has been asked to exempt India from its rules after the United States and India crafted a 2005 nuclear trade deal. The U.S. Congress created a loophole in U.S. law last year to allow the deal the advance, but the new law requires changes to NSG export guidelines. “It's likely that we will support that agreement in the suppliers group and I'll have a discussion around that” with visiting Indian nuclear negotiator Shyam Saran, he said. Australia would also consider changing its own export rules to allow sales of Australian uranium to India, Howard said. Current Australian nonproliferation laws prohibit uranium sales to non-NPT nations, Reuters reported. “There is no pressing urgency in relation to this issue, but we see India as a very responsible country,” Howard told reporters before meeting with Saran. “The relationship between Australia and India is growing. It’s a very important relationship and they will be considerations that we will bear in mind.” Australia would require India to allow international monitoring of any uranium fuel it purchased from Canberra. “We would never agree to supply uranium to a country unless we were completely satisfied that appropriate and enforceable and effective safeguards existed,” Howard said (Rob Taylor, Reuters, March 29).
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