Nuclear trade on the go after the deal with US

Dr. Manmohan Singh with George Bush during the historic visit by the Indian Premier to Washington DC.

BY RITU PANDEY The nuclear deal between India and the United States signed last year has opened up new opportunities for nuclear trade between India and the United States. And the push to enter the multi-billion dollar Indian market now opened to global trade, has already been felt.

A historic 5-day trade mission to New Delhi and Mumbai, India supported by the Nuclear Energy Institute and the U.S. Department of Commerce and led by Steve Hucik of GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy, with more than 60 senior executives representing more than 30 world-leading commercial nuclear companies, concluded in mid- January last year. The mission was the first commercial nuclear trade mission to visit India since the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) approved India for global commercial nuclear trade. It was also the largest ever mission mounted by the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC).

The USIBC-NEI Mission arrived in India just months after the historic opening of India to civilian nuclear trade with the U.S. and the world. Announced on July 18, 2005 during the celebrated Washington visit of PM Manmohan Singh, the U.S.-India nuclear deal was finally consummated with the signing, on October 9, 2008, of the U.S.-India 123 Agreement by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The inking of the bilateral 123 Agreement capped a whirl of approvals – from the Indian Government’s successful trust vote on July 20 to unanimous nods by the International Atomic Energy Agency and Nuclear Suppliers Group in September, to a final triumph in the U.S. Congress in early October.

The USIBC-NEI Mission met with key Government of India officials and the top executives of the Nuclear Power Corporation, the National Thermal Power Corporation and other leading public-sector undertakings. They also met with their counterparts among India’s rising global companies via the CII-USIBC Joint Task Force on Commercial Nuclear Cooperation, a group which has met since 2006 to identify and clear away obstacles to U.S.-Indian commercial nuclear trade. “The robust presence here of the U.S. commercial nuclear industry, so soon after the unfortunate events in Mumbai, speaks to the commitment of our companies to partner with India in the coming nuclear renaissance,” said Ted Jones, Director for Policy Advocacy at USIBC.

The CII-USIBC Joint Task Force identified identified policy issues on both sides requiring attention in order for India to move toward its ambitious goals for expanding its nuclear generating capacity to 30,000MW by 2020 and 60,000 MW by 2030. To enable Indian and U.S. private-sector companies alike to take part in the expansion, issues relating to nuclear liability and intellectual property protection, among others, need attention in India. On the U.S. side, the group has previously discussed U.S. export licensing procedures and the potential for U.S. companies to enter into commercial relationships with Indian manufacturing, contracting and service firms.

“We have considerable work yet to do, but we are happy to be at the stage of commercial engagement,” said Mr. Jones. The U.S. commercial nuclear industry leads the world in size, performance, innovation, and engineering worldwide. The U.S. is 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.

“We applaud the visionary and courageous leadership of India’s political and scientific leaders,” Mr. Jones said. “That vision, supported by India’s friends, finally put an end to India’s nuclear isolation and made today’s commercial engagement possible.” U.S. industry, including many of the commercial nuclear suppliers on this Mission, provided massive political support for the U.S.-India Civilian Nuclear Initiative. Through the USIBC-led Coalition for Partnership with India, U.S. industry joined with Indian Americans and policy experts to According to a report by Reuters, top U.S. firms have lobbied hard in India for a share in the country’s lucrative nuclear market, but there was little progress on key policy issues such as accident liability protection for suppliers. U.S. reactor manufacturers and services suppliers have been jubilant over the deal, but they still lag in a competitive scramble with Russian and European firms whose governments guarantee their liability in case of an industrial accident.

“Definitely the issue of liability is an extremely important one, and the French and Russians have an advantage here,” Robinder Sachdev, President of Imagindia Institute, an Indian lobby group, told the media. Indian officials were quoted to have said that the U.S. firms were being tested on several accounts, including their ability to build reactors because U.S. firms have not built one in the past three decades and the issue of liability

“India’s emergence from 34 years of nuclear isolation is an exemplary achievement,” said USIBC President, Ron Somers. “But the resilience and bravery and remarkable restraint demonstrated across the country after the recent terrorist strikes in Mumbai are what make us so proud to be associated with India. U.S. companies look forward, more than ever, to forming linkages with Indian counterparts to share technologies that will benefit all humanity as we strengthen our economic bonds for the 21st Century.” “U.S. industry is a reliable partner for India, and we are proud to demonstrate again our solidarity,” added USIBC Director Ted Jones. “We are eager to explore, at this more convenient time, how we can partner with India here and around the world."  

BY RITU PANDEY