Indo-US civilian nuclear deal likely to be modified

Washington, June 20 : The Indo-US civilian nuclear deal is mostly likely to be modified or may be rephrased to address the non-proliferation concerns and skepticism over the deal by some members of the US Congress, according to Congressional sources.

However, it may not necessarily change the spirit or tenor of the landmark agreement, they added.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House International Relations Committee is taking up the legislation concerning the deal for mark-up on June 28 and not on June 21, as was indicated earlier.

A mark-up means change/modifications in the language or rephrasing of a bill, after incorporating the views of all the members.

Congressional sources told UNI yesterday, the legislation now pending before the House and Senate international committees, will have language that would firm up India's commitment to implement strong export controls, separate its civilian nuclear infrastructure from its weapons programme, and place civilian facilities under IAEA safeguards.

Secondly, it would offer India some incentives to give up further weapons testing and to adhere to the fissile material cut-off treaty. This would assure lawmakers and the non-proliferation lobby alike that the American goals of non-proliferation will not be compromised by the civilian nuclear deal, the sources said.

Last week Senator Richard Lugar, chairman of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee said, ''Even though there is concern about the precedent set by this deal, we must ensure that this agreement does not undercut our own responsibilities under the Non-proliferation Treaty.'' He was referring to intense criticism from the non-proliferation lobby that the nuclear deal in its present form was unacceptable to it and needs changes to ensure that the proliferation goals of the US was met.

Mr Lugar had also indicated that both Houses of Congress were ''working through language that would guide our policy towards India and these outcomes could represent important advancements for non-proliferation policy''.

President Bush announced the nuclear deal during a visit to India in March, but the idea has been in the works since last July.

The agreement would allow India to import US nuclear technology in exchange for opening its civilian nuclear facilities to international inspections but not its nuclear-weapons programme.

The Bush administration is strongly urging the US Congress to pass amendments to the 1954 Atomic Energy Act that would give India specific waivers. But changes to the 1954 act are no small task, congressional sources said.

The Bush administration is also pushing for congressional approval of the deal by the end of July, before the summer recess. But Senate and House consensus may not come until the end of the year, several sources indicated.

The deal has met with strong opposition inside and outside the US Congress with the non-proliferation lobby expressing concerns about the precedent that the deal would set.

For cooperation to take place, Bush administration is seeking changes in US law and international regulations in the Nuclear Suppliers Group to allow energy-starved India to obtain restricted items, including nuclear fuel.
Prominent Republicans, notably Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a top contender for the House International Relations Committee Chairman post, in the next Congress, fear that the deal would undermine international efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons from states such as Iran and North Korea. In a recent statement Ros-Lehtinen, who chairs the International Relations Subcommittee on West and Central Asia said, ''If we are going to get an arrangement, (with India) we want to make sure we meet our national-security needs.'' Some lawmakers also fear the accord would unravel international agreements designed to halt the spread of nuclear weapons, and encourage the nuclear ambitions of countries such as Iran and North Korea.

Some American lawmakers and non-proliferation experts have criticised the deal, saying it might encourage nuclear proliferation and makes too many concessions to India -- a country that has not signed the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Despite pressure from senior administration officials and personal lobbying by the Bush administration officials, key Republicans remain on the fence. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee has been largely silent on the proposed legislation, and Republican Henry J Hyde of Illinois, chairman of the House International Relations Committee, was non-committal.

Republican Tom Lantos, ranking minority member on Hyde's committee, supports the accord, but he recently warned the administration's bill did ''not have the wide and bipartisan backing it needs to pass''.

The lawmakers also fear the deal would encourage China, for example, to cooperate more closely with Pakistan and Russia to expand its aid to Iran's nuclear programme.

Democratic Congressman from California, Howard L Berman says, ''The majority of us in Congress thinks that a US-India strategic relationship makes sense. But you also have this deal undermining our non-proliferation policies and it sort of insults Congress as an institution by asking us to change our laws (on nuclear sales) to allow a nuclear treaty that has not been negotiated yet.'' Before approving the deal many Congressmen and Senators would also like to see the negotiations completed between India and the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, on an agreement that would spell out how the agency would oversee India's civilian nuclear facilities.

They have also called for the agreement with the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to be completed before approval.

The NSG, which regulates global trade in nuclear technology and equipment operates by consensus. If the NSG declines to allow nuclear commerce with India, US officials may ultimately have to decide whether they want to proceed with the deal without the group's blessing, thus weakening an organisation the United States created in the hope for restraining global nuclear trade.

UNI

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