'Indo-US nuke trade unlikely to start unless India signs CSC'

WASHINGTON: American companies, that had played a key role in the passage of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, are unlikely to indulge in nuclear trade with India unless New Delhi becomes a party to an international convention on supplementary compensation for nuclear damage, a Congressional report has said. 

"US firms will likely be very reluctant to engage in nuclear trade with India if the government does not adhere to the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC), which has not yet entered into force," said the independentCongressional Research Service (CRS) in its latest report to the Congress on the implementation of the civilian nuclear issue. 

CRS is the bipartisan research wing of the US Congress which prepares periodic report on various issues for American lawmakers. The report was sent to lawmakers on September 28. 

National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon who was in Washington last week had announced that India will sign CSC. 

The CRS informed Congressmen that US companies have not yet started nuclear trade with India. 

"New Delhi had reportedly insisted that India and the United States conclude an agreement on a reprocessing facility in India before New Delhi would sign contracts with US nuclear firms," it said. 

"However, the countries announced March 29 that they had concluded the agreement. The Administration submitted the subsequent arrangement to Congress May 11. The proposed arrangement shall not take effect if Congress adopts a joint resolution of disapproval," the report said. 

The CRS report said the administration has characterised civil nuclear cooperation with India as a "win" for nonproliferation because it would bring India into the "nonproliferation mainstream". 

In short, the Administration is proposing that India should be courted as an ally in US nonproliferation policy, rather than continue as a target of US nonproliferation policy. 

According to this reasoning, India should become an ally for three reasons: past policies have not worked; India has a relatively good nonproliferation record; and India could be a useful ally in the nonproliferation regime. 

At the same time, it said some observers are concerned that India may not support US nonproliferation policies sufficiently to warrant nuclear cooperation, particularly where the US faces its greatest nuclear proliferation threat - Iran.