new delhi

A week after partially lifting trade sanctions against India and Pakistan, the US administration has tightened controls on technology exports to organizations believed to be involved in nuclear missile and military programmes.

Last Saturday (14 November), it named 250 entities in India and 90 in Pakistan for which US companies will require export licences to trade with. Most applications for licenses are expected to be denied.

Those singled out for sanctions in India include defence and atomic research agencies. Companies include the Fertilizer Corporation of India and Godrej & Boyce, which subcontracts from the Indian Space Research Organization, itself on the ‘hit list’.

US officials in Delhi say the list will ease the burden on US exporters by “clarifying their responsibilities”. The list is the largest release yet of US information on suspected nuclear and missiles proliferators to date.

The list is said to have been compiled by the Department of Defense, the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency. It is divided into three categories: government agencies, government-affiliated and private companies, and military bodies.

The government's nuclear programme is denied all trade, but exports to government-affiliated bodies and private companies will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Military agencies will be denied export of items on a commerce commodity control list.

An Indian government spokesman described the move as “coercive and counterproductive”. The Confederation of Indian Industries said publishing the list “would prove harmful to Indo-US business”.

India plans to take the matter to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Commerce minister Ramakrishna Hegde said the US action was “inconsistent with WTO rules and regulations”.