U.S., India Finalize Nuclear Deal

The United States and India agreed to terms Friday for their nuclear trade deal, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, July 20).

“The agreement has been finalized but it awaits review by both governments,” said Rahul Chhabra, a spokesman for the Indian Embassy in Washington, said following high-level talks here last week on the implementation agreement for the deal.  The talks were extended into Friday as officials made headway through disputes that had stalled the agreement over the past several months.

“The discussions were constructive and positive, and both Undersecretary [of State] Nicholas Burns and Foreign Secretary [Shiv Shankar] Menon are pleased with the substantial progress made on the outstanding issues in the 123 agreement,” said a joint statement. “We will now refer the issue to our governments for final review.”

India under the pact would have access to U.S. nuclear fuel and technology, in exchange for opening its civilian nuclear sites to international monitoring.

The deal would have to be approved by lawmakers in both countries, along with the international Nuclear Suppliers Group.  Members of the U.S. Congress have promised to review it carefully (P. Parameswaran, Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 21).

Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.) warned that congressional approval would be at “serious risk” if it violates the law that enabled the deal, the Press Trust of India reported Friday.

The 2006 Hyde Act created an exception to U.S. law to allow for nuclear trade with India, but legal boundaries governing nuclear exports have been debated.

“President [George W.] Bush made a huge mistake when he decided to eviscerate our nonproliferation laws in order to restart nuclear trade with India,” Markey said in a statement.  “The idea that the incredibly generous 2006 Hyde Act is too restrictive is absurd, and if President Bush negotiates an agreement with India that violates the letter or spirit of the Hyde Act, he will be putting congressional approval at serious risk” (Press Trust of India/India Times, July 20).

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