WASHINGTON, D.C.– The obstacles to the President’s proposed nuclear deal with India are mounting.  The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) rejected a request from the U.S. to put the deal on the Nuclear Suppliers Group May plenary agenda, despite lobbying from senior members of the Administration and Indian officials.  Bush’s legislation has met with lukewarm reception from Republicans and Democrats in Congress, and today a nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) analysis released by Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), the Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Nonproliferation Task Force reveals serious loopholes in the Administration’s proposed guidelines for an exemption for India from the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

“The Bush Administration’s proposal to the NSG makes no sense and could potentially leave the U.S. in a position of having kicked open the door for other countries to export nuclear materials to India without the benefit of allowing U.S. companies to compete in a new unregulated nuclear market.  President Bush will be in a difficult position if he wants to prevent other nuclear states from sharing nuclear technology with India.  The President cannot undermine the world’s nuclear rules and then try to enforce them,” said Rep. Markey.

The CRS analysis Rep. Markey released today analyzes the Administration’s proposed legislation side by side with the proposal put forward to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).  The analysis reveals that NSG approval of the Bush/India nuclear in advance of Congressional approval of the deal could leave the U.S. behind the curve on efforts to supply India with nuclear technology.

The CRS memoranda analyzes the Administration’s draft proposal called a “decision document” submitted on March 23, 2006 to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to exempt India from NSG restrictions on supplying countries who have not signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and who have not agreed to accept full-scope international safeguards.  The CRS analysis points out that:

• The Administration’s proposal “effectively exempts India from the full-scope safeguards requirement…and broadens the accepted circumstances for exemption beyond those of safety…and grandfathered agreements…”
• “One potential question that may arise is whether the United States will be able to influence its NSG partners in the kinds of exports sent to India.  Reportedly, some NSG members in the November 2005 Consultative Group meeting expressed the desire to restrict exports of enrichment and reprocessing, heavy water, highly enriched uranium, and plutonium.  The draft decision does not prohibit sensitive exports such as these, not do the NSG guidelines, at present, prevent such exports.”
• “Another question that could arise is how the United States and other states will measure their satisfaction in how well India is meeting its nonproliferation and safeguards commitments.”  CRS notes that there are language differences between the language has proposed for in its draft legislation and what it has proposed to the NSG, nothing that “the practical effect [of these differences] could be that NSG members might be able to export to India before U.S. companies could, even if an NSG decision awaited action by Congress on the draft legislation.”
• CRS also reports that while the draft Administration legislation would cutoff further nuclear exports to India if it conducted a nuclear test, the NSG members would not be bound to follow, noting that “NSG member states would likely not be ‘satisfied’ that India had maintained its nuclear testing moratorium, but a cutoff of exports would be at their discretion.  Moreover, if the United States provides fuel assurances to India as outlined in India’s Implementation Document presented to Parliament on March 7, 2006, then one or more states might continue to supply fuel to India, even if the United States could not.”

For copies of the CRS memoranda, more information on Rep. Markey’s work to address the proliferation of nuclear weapons or a copy of the resolution Rep. Markey has introduced to express opposition to the proposed India nuclear deal (H. Con. Res. 318), please visit http://markey.house.gov/

 Copy of CRS Analysis of Proposed NSG Decision on Nuclear Cooperation with India (4/5/06) (792.56 KB)
 Copy of Letter to International Relations Committee on the CRS Report (91.94 KB)