Political India: Engaging America

From The Hindu

Dow Chemical Company, which owns the erstwhile Union Carbide Company that was behind the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984, might have systematically sought to pre-empt the judicial outcome of the case by putting pressure on officials at the Indian Embassy in Washington, it has emerged.

This was revealed on Monday by non-governmental organisations that shared with media a response from the Indian Embassy to a Right to Information (RTI) application that they had filed in 2007. Earlier RTI applications filed in India had revealed a similar pattern of attempted influence by Dow on the Indian side.

The NGOs, including the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal and the Association for India's Development (AID), had gathered outside the Indian Embassy at the heart of Washington to protest against Dow Chemicals for its alleged role in the case.

In the RTI response, embassy Press Minister Rahul Chhabra appended a letter from Andrew Liveris, Chairman, CEO and President of Dow Chemical, addressing the former Ambassador, Ronen Sen. The letter to Mr. Sen followed shortly after meetings they held in New York on October 25 2006, as part of the U.S.-India CEO Forum.

Dated November 8 2006, a time when the Bhopal case was still under the consideration of the courts, the letter from Mr. Liveris notes: “Given the statements made by Government of India representatives in front of all meeting attendees that Dow is not responsible for Bhopal and will not be pursued by the GoI, it will be important to follow through to ensure concrete, sustained actions are taken that are consistent with these statements.”

In comments to The Hindu, Somasundaram Kumaresamuthusamy of AID — who had filed the RTI application in Washington — said, “It is shocking that GoI representatives has announced that Dow is not liable even though court is still deliberating on this issue.”

In the letter Mr. Liveris further sought to address the question of an application for a financial deposit filed by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers in May 2005. The Ministry in its application requested that Dow Chemicals deposit Rs.100 crores ($22 million) for environmental remediation costs.

On this matter Mr. Liveris said in the letter, “It follows logically from the GoI's statement regarding the non-liability of Dow, that the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers should now withdraw its application for financial deposit against remediation costs. Certainly a withdrawal of the application would be positive, tangible demonstration that the GoI means what it says about Dow's lack of responsibility in the matter.” Further, the RTI application response makes clear that Mr. Liveris sought to link the resolution of the Bhopal “legacy issue” to further progress between India and the U.S. in terms of industrial ties and cooperation at such forums as the U.S.-India CEO Forum.

In yet another letter to the Indian Ambassador after the meeting of the Forum on September 14 2005, Mr. Liveris said “to facilitate the Indan-U.S. strategic partnership and to help chart a path forward, the following proposal is designed to help resolve a specific legacy legal issue — the Bhopal matter.”

Mr. Liveris in the letter goes on to outline as the first step of the proposal, “The GoI will implement a consistent, government-wide position that does not promote continued GoI litigation efforts against non-Indian companies over the Bhopal tragedy.” He added that “identified companies” should be invited to discuss their views directly with the relevant ministries of the GoI at the request of the latter.

Linking this request for a softer approach to foreign companies facing liabilities to the broader issue of U.S.-India business ties, Mr. Liveris said, “One of the top areas cited as a barrier to mutual business success was legacy legal issues within India. Several companies face such issues, and all agree that legal matters which are unpredictable and changeable are a barrier for any company to feel certainty in the investment climate.” He said this was also raised in a discussion with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by U.S. CEOs in September in New York.

The Hindu is in possession of copies of three letters from Mr. Liveris' to Ambassador Ronen Sen.

Labels: Bhopal gas tragedy, Dow Chemicals, Union Carbide, Warren Anderson

From The Hindu

“There is a liability which needs to be resolved… [and] we have not seen that [Dow Chemicals] has been able, or responsible enough, to come around” despite the matter being in court for many years, said Rajan Bharti Mittal, President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), during a press conference here.

Mr. Mittal, along with Amit Mitra General Secretary, FICCI, spoke to media during a visit aimed at promoting Track II discussions in the aftermath of the recently concluded United States-India Strategic Dialogue.

While noting that he was not familiar with the commercial terms of the acquisition by Dow Chemicals of Union Carbide Company — the entity responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984 — he added, “I would say that any company that was going to do business… of such magnitude that can have loss of life which is very large in the sense that a village of a township could be wiped out, they need to be responsible… not only on their technology, but to see that their backup [insurance] is enough.”

However, he argued, such liability needs to be capped even if, in cases such as the British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, it may be difficult to allocate the liability to BP or some insurance company.

Yet Mr. Mittal hinted at the need to further resolve the liability associated with the Bhopal gas tragedy. Again drawing a parallel to the BP spill he said, “The President and the administration are saying ‘Let’s talk about it later. First fix it, then let’s talk about liability.’

Prognosis for nuclear liability bill

Mr. Mittal also touched upon the related question of the nuclear liability legislation that the Indian Parliament is considering, especially given concerns that the liability has been capped at a relatively low level. He said, “I think… there will be some adjustments and some tinkering will be done because there is a precedent.” He added that he had seen “many figures” for the amount of liability across the world and they could range from “around $30 million to almost a $1 billion liability”.

Discussing some of the key factors that could determine the outcome of the negotiations on nuclear liability Mr. Mittal said, “At the end of the day, [it will] depend on [the question]: Is private enterprise going to join hands on nuclear power generation? Because if the private [parties] are there it is very different [compared to a situation where] the Government of India is going to do it.”

He also threw his weight behind the idea of manufacturer liability in the event of gross negligence regarding the equipment supplied. Mr. Mittal said that his real concern was over what would happen when the government handed over nuclear power generation to private hands, arguing that “the manufacturers of nuclear power generation [plants] will have to take their responsibility… for $100 million, You cannot say, ‘I have a bad manufacturing situation, and the operator is to be hung for that.’” … If it is a manufacturing defect, you have to hold the manufacturers responsible as much.”

Labels: Bhopal gas tragedy, Dow Chemicals, FICCI, Rajan Bharti Mittal, Union Carbide

From The Hindu

The United States government virtually ruled out any further review of the investigation into the Bhopal industrial disaster of 1984, and in particular, refused to discuss the extradition of American citizen Warren Anderson, CEO of Union Carbide behind the leak of poisonous gasses that led to the deaths of many thousands of people.

Speaking to media here shortly after an Indian court announced the conviction of the seven accused in the case, Robert Blake, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, said, “Let me just say that we hope this verdict today helps to bring some closure to the victims and their families. But I do not expect this verdict to reopen any new inquiries or anything like that.”

Mr. Blake underscored the United States’ unwillingness to take the matter any further at its end, saying, “On the contrary, we hope that this is going to help to bring closure.” However, he acknowledged, “With respect to Bhopal, obviously that was one of the greatest industrial tragedies and industrial accidents in human history.” He also said the announcement made by the Indian courts was “an internal matter to India”.

In response to a question on whether the U.S. would be more receptive to any requests for extradition of Mr. Anderson or other American officials connected with the Bhopal disaster Mr. Blake said, “On the question of extradition — as a matter of policy we never discuss extradition so I cannot comment on that.”

Mr. Blake also did not comment on a question regarding whether the U.S. would be willing to exert any pressure on Dow Chemicals for compensation to victims, as the administration is currently doing in the case of British Petroleum and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

At the State Department, spokesman P.J. Crowley struck a relatively positive note, saying, “Our economies are increasingly closely connected. So I certainly would hope that this particular case does not inhibit the continuing expansion of economic, cultural, and political ties between our two countries.” He added, “We fully expect that this will not be the case.”

Labels: Bhopal gas tragedy, Dow Chemicals, Indo-U.S. ties, Keshub Mahindra, Union Carbide, Warren Anderson