rediff.com: US deletes 2 Indian entities from sanctions list

The Clinton administration has removed two Indian entities -- the Nuclear Science Centre and the Uranium Recovery Plant -- from its sanctions list, but has added the Indian Space Research Organisation's Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network to the list.

The sanctions were imposed after India carried out a series of nuclear tests in May, 1998.

While the Nuclear Science Centre is located in New Delhi, the Uranium Recovery Plant is based in Cochin.

The announcement was made by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Export Administration in a release, which recalled that on November 18, 1998, it added certain Indian and Pakistani entities to the list, removed 51 Indian entities and modified one entity's listing.

In addition, the bureau categorised certain items from a presumption of denial to a presumption of approval and corrected two inadvertent errors.

After consultations between the bureau and the state department, the release said, it also transferred some subordinates of Indian and Pakistani organisations on the entities list to different appendices, which will "increase the number of licence applications submitted to the bureau".

The entities list, or black list as it is commonly called, makes it difficult for US companies to export items that can be used for missile and nuclear weapon programmes.

As most items imported by India are dual-purpose items, Congress members have unsuccessfully urged President Bill Clinton to scrap the list altogether.

They asked Clinton to describe India as a "natural ally" not only in words, but in action, and to appreciate that New Delhi, with two fronts to defend, does need modern weapons in a region bristling with such weapons.

Earlier this week, prominent Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone said Washington was maintaining these restrictions to pressure India to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and warned that such pressure tactics would be counter-productive.

The waivers relate to what are called basic human needs or where US companies will be at a competitive disadvantage.


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