Unlimited liability a deterrent to business: US Under Secretary

US Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, Francisco J Sanchez, said US business was concerned over unlimited liability. “We welcome India’s move to join the nuclear liability regime. However, there have been concerns over unlimited liability clauses, which are deterrent to business. We expect the issues would be looked into, so that more clarity could be achieved.”

Sanchez, who opened a three-day policy trip to India, said investment from the US in India’s nuclear sector was expected. Once the certainty with regard to liability is established, it would pave way for more investments. Sanchez’s visit coincided with the visit of a high-level GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy team in Mumbai to launch talks with the state-run Nuclear Power Corporation for the procurement of six reactors of 1,350 Mw each.

Sanchez’s comment is crucial, especially as the US State Department spokesman, Phillip Crowley, recently said his department would look to New Delhi to see what changes can be made to the nuclear liability Bill passed by Parliament, making suppliers of nuclear equipment also potentially liable.

“We note that Indian business leaders are concerned about some specific aspects of the law that was just passed by Parliament, and we will look to the Indian government to see what changes can be made,” Crowley had said, when asked to comment on reports that US business was not happy about the law in its present form.

Further, the US India Business Council (USIBC), representing 300 top US companies doing business with India, wanted India to adopt a nuclear liability regime “channelling absolute and exclusive liability to nuclear power plant operators and establishing a sole remedy for compensation of claims”.

“These principles are basic to international best practices as reflected in the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Convention on Supplementary Compensation,” USIBC said.

Meanwhile, Sanchez said the Indo-US trade (both ways) is expected to reach $50 billion this year. He emphasised the importance of US-India bilateral relationship and highlighted several opportunities in India’s emerging metropolitan sectors offer to US businesses looking to expand their exports.