Boeing, GE ready to launch N-deal lobby

Major American companies like GE and Boeing as well as a prominent trade body are ready to launch a big lobbying campaign to persuade the Congress to bless the Indo-US civil nuclear deal as soon as any compromise between the two governments is nailed down, according to a media report.

"All the right tom-toms are beating for a successful conclusion of this deal, which will be huge for US companies," Ron Somers, head of the US-India Business Council within the US Chamber of Commerce, was quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying.

But the Journal reports that the lobbying campaign by the American firms and the US Chamber of Commerce could face stiff opposition from a number of lawmakers, including the Democratic and Republican leaders of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, who have raised an "alarm" over India's military and economic ties with Iran. New Delhi, it notes, is cooperating with Tehran on a proposed natural gas pipeline from Iran across Pakistan to India. But India has also supported efforts to keep Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon, it points out.

President George W Bush, the Journal says, has known for months that he would have to pay a price to solidify his long-touted partnership with India. After months of trying to resolve deep divisions, the two nations are set to make a final push next week to seal a pact opening the door for deeper political, military and commercial ties between US and India.

At its heart lies a proposal to provide New Delhi with nuclear fuel and technology, which critics say could undermine international efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, the paper reports.

The question, the Journal says, is whether the Bush administration can hammer out a compromise on nuclear cooperation that doesn't undercut existing US laws or give India leeway to develop a new batch of atomic weapons. India is demanding several "painful" concessions, it quotes US officials and experts as saying, that are almost certain to anger key leaders in Congress from both parties, piquing the attention of General Electric and Westinghouse Electric.

"This deal is very very important to both countries," Bill Begert, vice president at Pratt and amp Whitney, a unit of United Technologies, which hopes to supply engines for a fighter-jet deal, is quoted as saying. "If this falls apart, it will have real near-term consequences for everyone in the defence industry."

Pakistan presents another foreign-policy wrinkle, the paper says, adding any advances in India's nuclear capabilities could further unsettle the government of President Pervez Musharraf, currently beset by countrywide protests after he cracked down on the judiciary and pro-Taliban Lal Masjid in Islamabad.

Pakistan also had sought similar consideration from Washington, but was rebuffed. Many US lawmakers have also vowed to oppose any deal that loosens restrictions on how India can use US-provided nuclear fuel, the Journal says.

The stakes are high for Bush's embattled foreign policy, it added, stressing that aides often cite the thawing of relations with India as a key accomplishment of his presidency at a time of deep frustration in the Middle East and rising tensions with powers such as Russia and China. The nuclear deal is key to cementing a partnership between the world's oldest democracy, the US, and its largest, India, after decades of chillness.