“Resolution of two key issues will enable India to assume a key role in the global commercial nuclear supply chain”
– By Linton Levy –
In a significant step forward for U.S.-India commercial nuclear cooperation, India and United States have concluded an agreement to grant India advance consent to reprocess spent fuel of U.S. origin and fuel burned in U.S. reactors.
The advanced consent agreement is just the third such pact ever undertaken by the U.S. with another country. The U.S. had previously granted similar rights only to the European consortium EURATOM and Japan, but not to China, Brazil, Indonesia, South Korea, nor to sixteen other countries with 123 Agreements.
“The agreement to make India the third reprocessing partner of the U.S. reflects the special trust and respect that exists between strategic partners,” said Ron Somers, President of the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC). “Today’s announcement attests to continuity and bipartisanship in both countries, and encourages us that U.S.-India civil nuclear trade is near at hand.”
Finalization of the reprocessing agreement fulfills an important provision of the U.S.-India 123 Agreement, which prescribed deadlines for negotiation of the separate reprocessing pact. Under the 123 Agreement, India will construct new facilities dedicated for reprocessing the safeguarded nuclear material under IAEA safeguards.
USIBC, supported by the leading U.S. commercial nuclear suppliers, was instrumental in advocating that the 123 Agreement include advanced consent rights. Since final congressional approval of the 123 Agreement in October 2008, USIBC has steadfastly promoted commercial implementation of the historic accord.
“Resolution of two key issues will enable India to assume a key role in the global commercial nuclear supply chain,” said Ted Jones, Director for Policy Advocacy at USIBC. “We hope these issues will get early attention, as U.S. and Indian commercial nuclear firms are eager to partner not just in India, but in the renaissance of commercial nuclear power around the world.”
The first issue is agreement by the U.S. and Indian governments on nonproliferation assurances to permit U.S. licensing for technical exchanges regarding nuclear power. Delays in these “Part 810 assurances,” as they are known, are currently preventing work by Indian suppliers in the U.S. as well as collaboration in India. The second issue is India’s adoption of a regime to make nuclear liability predictable, consistent with the IAEA-sponsored Convention on Supplementary Compensation. A nuclear liability law will not just establish an effective and assured means for adequate compensation in the extremely unlikely event of an accident. It will also enable responsible national and international suppliers to develop the safest nuclear power program in India. Contrary to myth, suppliers from all countries will require a modern nuclear liability regime in order to participate in the Indian market.
U.S. commercial nuclear companies have much to offer India as it undertakes an ambitious plan to add 60,000 MW in commercial generating capacity by 2030. The U.S. commercial nuclear industry leads the world in size, performance, innovation, and engineering. The U.S. is by a wide margin the largest generator of nuclear electric power in the world – with 27% of the world's total installed capacity and nearly double the number of reactors as France. The U.S. also produces at roughly 1/2 to 1/3 of the cost in other major countries. In recent decades, U.S. reactor companies and civil nuclear engineering companies have remained at the forefront of innovation and engineering worldwide.
The U.S.-India Business Council, formed in 1975 at the request of the Government of India and the U.S. Government to advance commercial ties between the world’s two largest free-market democracies, is hosted under the aegis of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region. The U.S.-India Business Council celebrates its 35th Anniversary at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on June 2, 2010 in Washington, D.C. For more information please visit www.usibc.com.