India, US must have ‘honest conversation’ on nuclear cooperation, tariffs: Eric Garcetti
The US Bureau of Industry and Security on Wednesday removed Indian Rare Earths, Indira Gandhi Atomic Research Center and Bhabha Atomic Research Center from an ‘Entity List’ to reduce barriers to advanced energy cooperation.
The Indian government should address the country’s nuclear liability law to drive civil nuclear cooperation with the US following Washington’s removal of restrictions on key Indian atomic entities, outgoing US ambassador Eric Garcetti said on Thursday.
Garcetti, who is set to step down this week, appeared to be in agreement with US president-elect Donald Trump’s call for changes in India’s tariff regime, saying in an interview that there is a need for an “honest conversation” between the two countries on this issue.
The US Bureau of Industry and Security on Wednesday removed Indian Rare Earths, Indira Gandhi Atomic Research Center (IGCAR) and Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) from an ‘Entity List’ to reduce barriers to advanced energy cooperation. The move came in the wake of an announcement by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, during a visit to India on January 6, that Washington would remove regulations preventing cooperation between key Indian nuclear entities and American companies under the 2005 civil nuclear deal.
Garcetti said the actions by the US underlined the depth of cooperation with India in areas such as civil nuclear technology and critical technologies which is making the relationship “indispensable”. Other countries such as China will dominate in nuclear technology in the absence of closer cooperation between the US and India, he indicated.
“Other countries will compete and dominate nuclear technology, whether it’s China or others, if we don’t get this together. But imagine the US and India doing this together, meeting India’s energy needs without climate change being affected, propelling future ships and transportation. Really, the sky is the limit,” he said, adding that he had “no doubt that the Trump administration will carry that ball forward” in civil nuclear cooperation.
“But liability...for civil nuclear activity is still an issue that we engage with, Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] and President [Joe Biden] spoke about it and we still have some steps to take,” Garcetti said.
Addressing issues related to nuclear liability “is a sign that you will see India-US technology shared, liability shared and that we can move beyond the rhetoric of the Cold War and really acknowledge just what dear and close friends we are right now”, he said.
Asked specifically if India needs to do more to address the nuclear liability clause, Garcetti indicated that both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition think there is a “responsible way” to handle the issue.
He replied: “Absolutely. I mean that was the promise of India... In fairness, Prime Minister Modi told the president we absolutely want to find a way to move forward and my conversations privately with both the opposition and BJP here is that they both think there’s a responsible way forward, where there’s some shared liability but also not such a high bar, that no progress moves forward and other countries dominate this space.”
The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act of 2010, enacted to provide compensation to victims of a nuclear incident, includes the concept of supplier liability over and above the liability of the operator of a nuclear plant. This provision whereby suppliers can be asked to pay damages has held up nuclear projects involving foreign suppliers.
Responding to another question about Trump’s threat to impose reciprocal tariffs on India and the impact of the incoming administration on the growth of bilateral relations, Garcetti appeared to back the president-elect’s stance on tariffs.
Garcetti had created a flutter by saying at an event organised by the US-India Business Council (USIBC) in December that India remains the world’s “highest tariff major economy” and the two sides should work together to reduce tariffs and make trade more fair.
“I hope that President Trump’s words help us elevate a more honest conversation, as I’ve called for. Now that we’ve resolved all the trade disputes that we had, that were outstanding, we’ve set the table for a feast,” he said.
“But it cannot be that we let our bureaucracies take baby steps. If we’re going to replace our overdependence on China for critical supply chains, if we are to be able to reap the benefits from pharmaceuticals to artificial intelligence, we’ve got to be bigger, bolder and ambitious. And I think what president-elect Trump is saying [is that] there’s consequences if we don’t, but there’s also opportunities if we do,” he said.
Garcetti also addressed criticism from some quarters that the India-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) has not moved fast enough by noting that it didn’t exist two years ago. He said he believed it will be a “permanent part” of the bilateral relationship and has resulted in “record semiconductor investments from American companies” in India and the creation of telecommunication systems “without Chinese equipment”.
He added, “I know the new administration already, in the briefings I’ve had, Michael Waltz, who’s our incoming NSA, wants to carry that work on critical and emerging technologies forward.”