US says no nuke deals till liability issue is resolved
Suppliers of nuclear equipment from the U.S see Nuclear Damage Act as a hurdle
Washington: American companies cannot have nuclear agreements in India unless the government resolves the liability issue even though India represents phenomenal partnership opportunity for US firms, a top American expert has said.
“There will not be nuclear deals in India unless and until the civil nuclear liability issue is resolved. I am heartened that the Modi administration is beginning to come to terms with reform of liability. That would truly open up that market to US reactor vendors in a big way,” Daniel Lipman, executive director of Supplier Programmes at the Nuclear Energy Institute told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing.
At the hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on “The Future of International Civilian Nuclear Cooperation,” Mr Lipman said that India has plans to put out up to 50 nuclear reactors over the coming 30 years.
“But there are agreements in place and reactor deals that have been consummated with the Russians. At Kudankulam there are operating reactors of Russian design and there is a new set of units that have been consummated with the Russians. Plus the French are in there. We need this civil nuclear liability protection. I’m certain that US firms just will not put themselves at risk,” Lipman said.