US govt cites economic benefits from N-deal
Monday, 22 September 2008
WASHINGTON, Sept 21 (PTI): With the business community in the US lobbying hard for a legislative nod for the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal, the Bush administration is also working overtime to convince lawmakers of the economic benefits that will accrue for American firms as a result of the agreement.
Pointing to the "Letter of Intent" that India has provided to the US to purchase reactors with at least 10,000 Mega Watts (Mwe) worth of power generation from American firms, a senior state department official told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that US firms will lose a crucial pie of the business if the deal was not operationalised.
"The Indian government has publicly stated its intention to work with US nuclear firms. But international competition will, inevitably, be intense and we want to avoid exposing US firms to any unnecessary delays," Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns said in his Written Statement to the Senate Panel.
"Without approval and implementation of the 123 Agreement, however, US nuclear firms will be precluded from competing in this important new global market," he wrote.
Pointing to the "Letter of Intent" that India has provided to the US to purchase reactors with at least 10,000 Mega Watts (Mwe) worth of power generation from American firms, a senior state department official told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that US firms will lose a crucial pie of the business if the deal was not operationalised.
"The Indian government has publicly stated its intention to work with US nuclear firms. But international competition will, inevitably, be intense and we want to avoid exposing US firms to any unnecessary delays," Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns said in his Written Statement to the Senate Panel.
"Without approval and implementation of the 123 Agreement, however, US nuclear firms will be precluded from competing in this important new global market," he wrote.