New Delhi: Former US President James “Jimmy” Earl Carter Jr. passed away Sunday at the age of 100. While his single-term presidency was beset by a number of domestic and international crises, Carter, in 1980 used all levers available to him to ensure the sale of uranium to India.
Almost three decades before George W. Bush and the White House had to lobby members of the US Congress to ensure passage of the civil nuclear deal with India, Carter in 1980 was calling half a dozen senators to ensure the Senate would allow the sale of around 38 tonnes of uranium to India.
In 1963, India and the US signed a civil nuclear deal, which saw American firms assist in the construction of the Tarapur atomic power station, as well as committing to send fuel supplies for 30 years, till 1993. However, in 1974, after the nuclear weapons test by India, the US began applying pressure and sanctions on New Delhi’s nuclear programme.
One of the first steps by the US was the creation of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), a consortium of nuclear power states in 1974. The next step was the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act (NNPA) passed by the US Congress in 1978, which prevented Washington D.C. from engaging in trade with non-nuclear weapons states (NNWS) that did not have their nuclear programme under the full scope of International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) safeguards.
The NNPA categorised India as a NNWS, making its nuclear programme subject to full scope safeguards. New Delhi maintained that Tarapur would be subject to inspections.
However, the co-existence of the 1963 agreement and the 1978 law led to a conundrum for the White House.
Ties between the two countries a few years earlier had just been through its own version of a “Nixon shock” given the White House’s continued support for Pakistan during the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh, which saw American President Richard M. Nixon describe Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi with unflattering words. Ties were at a nadir.
However, as Carter, the former governor of Georgia rose to the presidency, he had in New Delhi Morarji Desai, the former finance minister of India assume premiership after two years of emergency, and the two attempted their own reset of ties.
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Desai – Carter diplomacy
A year into his presidency, Carter visited India from 1 January to 3 January, 1978, meeting with President Neelam Sanjiva Reddy and Desai, along with addressing the Indian Parliament. The visit, which saw the “Delhi Declaration” announced by Carter and Desai, saw both leaders call for the reduction of stockpiles of nuclear weapons.
“The spectre of war has hung over the world for too long. Existing stockpiles of nuclear weapons must be reduced and eventually eliminated, and the danger of proliferation of nuclear weapons must be arrested,” read the Delhi Declaration.
However, in the midst of Carter rebuilding ties with Desai, he also had a moment where microphones caught the US President directing his Secretary of State Cyrus Vance to send a “cold and blunt” letter to India after their return to Washington D.C.
The reason was the sharp disagreement between the two leaders over India’s nuclear programme, reported The New York Times at the time.
While the inadvertent recording of the conversation dampened outcomes of the visit, the two leaders continued with their nuclear diplomacy. Six months later Desai visited the US between 12 June and 15 June, 1978. “The President and the Prime Minister had extensive and highly useful discussions on the Indo-U.S. Nuclear Cooperation Agreement and statutory requirements affecting the continued supply of enriched uranium from the United States,” read the joint communiqué published during Desai’s visit.
It added: “President Carter pledged to make every effort consistent with American law to maintain fuel supplies for Tarapur and continue nuclear cooperation with India.”
By the time of Desai’s visit the NNPA had been signed into law by Carter, giving the US a two-year window to press India to join the full scope of IAEA’s safeguards to continue to maintain uranium fuel supplies to Tarapur.
However, talks between the two governments eventually came to a naught, with India refusing to allow all its nuclear installations to come under inspection by the IAEA. Nevertheless, Carter pressed ahead with his plans to continue sending fuel to India.
1978 – 1980 uranium sales
In April 1978, Carter overruled the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and ordered sale of over eight tonnes of enriched uranium to India. New Delhi before September 1979 had put in two requests each of 19 tonnes of enriched uranium to the US–the date after which requests would no longer be accepted unless it had allowed IAEA inspections.
However, the NNPA as a law had an in-built veto by the US Congress over decisions of the president with regards to the trade of nuclear fuel.
If both the House and the Senate passed resolutions disapproving the trade of nuclear fuel, then the president could not order the transfer of such fuels.
This was what Carter was up against, when on 19 June, 1980 he informed the US Congress of his authorisation of 39,718 kg of low-enriched uranium to India for its use in the Tarapur power station, along with the export of replacement parts.
“I have determined that to withhold these exports would be seriously prejudicial to the achievement of United States non-proliferation objectives and would otherwise jeopardize the common defense and security. I have made this determination for the policy reasons discussed below,” said Carter in his message to the US Congress.
The US president added: “The exports will avoid the risk of a claim by India that the United States has broken an existing agreement between the two governments and has thereby relieved India of its obligation to refrain from re-processing the fuel previously supplied by the United States. Supply of this fuel will also ensure the continuation of safeguards and other U.S. controls on disposition of U.S.-origin fuel that has been supplied to India.”
Carter faced a number of roadblocks. The House Foreign Affairs’ Committee, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the full House of Representatives had voted against transfer of nuclear fuel and parts from the US to India.
However, if the Senate allowed it, India would continue to receive the fuel needed to keep Tarapur running. In the midst of an election against Republican candidate Ronald Reagan, Carter called up nearly half a dozen senators according to news reports, and ensured the Senate would not pass a disapproval resolution, allowing the US to send the fuel to India.
The White House succeeded in a close vote–46 for and 48 against–with 31 Democrats and 17 Republicans voting against the motion to prevent transfer of fuel to India, highlighting the almost eclectic coalition of senators Carter was able to amass in support of his authorisation.
However, the US eventually stopped supplying the required fuel for Tarapur, which was discussed during Indira Gandhi’s visit to the White House during Reagan’s presidency in 1982. The then US President offered a work around–he would okay the sale of uranium from France to India, thereby circumventing violations of any American laws.
The deal between New Delhi and Paris was eventually announced in November 1982, to keep Tarapur running.
Nevertheless, Carter, much like his successor Bush did in 2008, had to wield persuasive powers of the White House to push the complicated India-US nuclear cooperation in a positive direction.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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