Congressional Statements

Re sanctions against India from Senators Brownback, Lugar, Hagel, Gordon Smith, John Kerry and Dodd

Letter to President Bush
February 14, 2001

President George W. Bush
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President,

In the wake of the January 26, 2001, earthquake that struck the Indian state of Gujarat, the Government of India is expected to seek loans from international financial institutions, such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. The World Bank has thus far offered $300 million, and has pledged to put together a longer-term assistance plan in consultation with the Gujarat state government. We understand that India may seek a total of $1.5 billion in multilateral loans.

Up to this point, the Administration has chosen to exercise only part of the waiver authority the Congress provided in 1999. Among the sanctions that remain in place is an official posture of US opposition to World Bank Loans for other than humanitarian purposes. Under this policy, the United States would oppose loans for infrastructure construction and other long-term development projects that do not provide emergency relief. The previous administration made it clear that the removal of US opposition to World Bank lending is contingent on India's signing of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT.)

We write to urge you to take this opportunity not only to waive this particular restriction, but also to waive economic sanctions on India altogether.

Clearly, the present tragedy in India is an enormous humanitarian emergency. The U.S. should fully support India's requests for assistance through international financial institutions, and should work within the World Bank and other multilateral institutions to expedite India's requests.

This time of enormous tragedy in India presents an important opportunity to say that the United States will no longer use its influence with world bodies to punish ordinary Indians. By acting now to eliminate all remaining economic sanctions against India, you would send a positive signal of American concern and support and take ownership of a bold new course in India-U.S. relations. You would also take a major step towards building a far friendlier and more normalized relations between our two nations, and * most critically * remove any impediments for full and prompt delivery of assistance to India in this time of great need.

Sincerely,
(signed) Brownback, Lugar, Hagel, Gordon Smith, John Kerry and Dodd