US lifts sanctions on BARC, two other Indian companies in major push to civil nuclear cooperation

The United States on Thursday lifted Cold War-era sanctions on three Indian entities, including the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), in a major step toward advancing civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries.

The US Department of Commerce announced that BARC, the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), and Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) were removed from the Bureau of Industry and Security’s (BIS) Entity List, which imposes restrictions on foreign entities involved in activities deemed contrary to US national security or foreign policy interests.

The United States and India share a commitment to advancing peaceful nuclear cooperation and associated research and development activities, with strengthened science and technology cooperation over the past several years that has benefitted both countries and their partner countries around the world, BIS said.

Boost to 2008 civil nuclear deal

The move is expected to facilitate joint research and development, technology cooperation, and energy security efforts between the two nations.

It also signals renewed momentum in the 2008 nuclear deal, originally envisioned by then-US President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to foster peaceful nuclear cooperation.

“The removal of the three Indian entities will enable closer cooperation between the United States and India to secure more resilient critical minerals and clean energy supply chains,” said Matthew Borman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration.

“This action aligns with and supports the overall ambition and strategic direction of the US-India partnership,” he added.

What US NSA said during his recent India visit

The Biden administration lifted sanctions just over a week after US national security advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan announced that Washington was finalising steps to remove “long-standing regulations that have prevented civil nuclear cooperation between India’s leading nuclear entities and US companies.”

Speaking at IIT-Delhi during his India visit, Sullivan had said, “The formal paperwork will be done soon, but this will be an opportunity to turn the page on some of the frictions of the past and create opportunities for entities that have been on restricted lists in the US to come off those lists and enter into deep collaboration with the US, with our private sector, with our scientists and technologists, to move civil nuclear cooperation forward together,” Sullivan said during his visit to India.