How India and the United States Are Building a 21st-Century Partnership

Five years ago, President Barack Obama declared the U.S.-India relationship one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century. Acknowledging this unique bond and its transformative potential, our two countries inaugurated a Strategic and Commercial Dialogue (S&CD) this week. The S&CD is a new mechanism to broaden and deepen U.S.-India cooperation on a range of critical bilateral, regional, and global issues and focus increased attention on the significant role of economics and commerce in our bilateral ties.

Some issues in respect of Indian’s nuclear liability law - I

Seemingly, the highlight of President Obama’s visit was the announcement that India and the United States had come to an understanding on the two major issues that stood in the way of the successful full implementation of the Indo-US nuclear deal.

While the first issue related to some of the provisions of the Indian Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLNDA), the second concerned a successful negotiation of the administrative arrangements for the implementation of the India-US 123 nuclear agreement. The issues in respect of CLNDA related to: (i) the conformity of CLNDA with the provisions of the Convention on Supplementary Convention (CSC), signed - but not yet ratified - by India; (ii) Sec. 17(b) of CLNDA, which allowed for Right of Recourse against the supplier; and (iii) Sec. 46, which allowed for legal cases against the operator under Acts other than the CLNDA. The administrative arrangements under discussion were with respect to the accounting and tracking of US-supplied nuclear materials and materials produced with the use of US-supplied equipment.

India-U.S. Energy Ties: Ending Protectionism

It is time for India and the United States, the world’s leading democracies, to become full-fledged energy partners. Doing so will go far toward making the U.S. and India true strategic partners and driving cooperation on a host of issues from climate change to maritime security. With President Obama having accepted Prime Minister Modi’s invitation to be the Chief Guest at this year’s Republic Day celebrations, now is the time for the U.S. and India to make progress on energy across the board.

However, a full energy partnership will require policy adjustments on both sides. For the U.S., this will mean changing policies that are clearly protectionist in regard to the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and oil. In regard to LNG, the U.S. has one set of export standards for countries with which the U.S. has free trade agreements and another far more onerous set for India and other countries with which the U.S. does not have such agreements. While some in the U.S. favor discrimination on environmental grounds (on the theory that hindering exports of LNG will deter fracking), economic protectionist factors are paramount. Opposition in the U.S. Congress to change has come from northeastern representatives who believe that exports will lead to increased gas prices for home heating and cooking. A coalition of companies in gas intensive manufacturing also has opposed change supposedly to keep gas cheap for their own use.

India-US WTO patch-up: Will the TFA really help India?

India and the US have temporarily resolved their disagreement regarding the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) at the WTO. The US has consented to give India an indefinite 'peace clause' pending a permanent settlement of its food security problem.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declined to sign the significant TFA because the time allotted to India to rationalise food subsidies was only till 2017. WTO members agreed not to challenge India for breaking WTO rules on stockpiling until 2017. Under the latest agreement, however, the US has clarified that it and others won't challenge India beyond 2017 if no solution is reached.