Having Its Yellowcake and Eating it Too: How the NSG Waiver for India Threatens to Undermine the Nuclear Nonprofileration Regime

Abstract

The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a cartel of nuclear suppliers that imposes export restrictions on nuclear trade with states that do not adhere to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) or submit to safeguards administered by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The NSG passed a waiver of restrictions on nuclear commerce with India in September 2008 despite India’s failure to meet either of these nonproliferation norms. This waiver, largely influenced by the economic and political motivations of large nuclear suppliers, establishes a double standard for India because it provides India with the same trade benefits of NPT members but without the nonproliferation obligations. This Note argues that the NSG waiver threatens to undermine the NPT and global security atlarge. The Note proposes ways to narrow the scope of the waiver to prevent further damage to the nuclear nonproliferation regime.