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Washington, September 7
Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna has introduced a standalone bill in the US House of Representatives seeking a waiver to India against the punitive CAATSA sanctions, asserting that it is in the best interests of both countries to deter "aggressors" in light of Russia and China's close ties.
The Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) is a tough US law that authorises the US administration to impose sanctions on countries that purchase major defence hardware from Russia in response to Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections.
The resolution, which has also been endorsed by Congressman Brad Sherman and David Schweikert along with Khanna, has been sent to the House Foreign Affairs Committee for necessary action.
“While India faces immediate needs to maintain its heavily Russian-built weapons systems, a waiver to sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act during this transition period is in the best interests of the United States and the United States-India defence partnership to deter aggressors in light of Russia and China's close partnership,” it said.
A similar legislative amendment to the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) was introduced by Khanna, a Democrat, this summer and it was passed by the House with bipartisan support.
“I first introduced this as an amendment to the National Defence Authorisation Act and now I am proud to introduce it as a standalone bill to continue to build momentum and support for it. It is necessary for us to pass this in order to strengthen the relationship between the US and India and deter aggressors like China,” Khanna told PTI.
The resolution asserts that India faces immediate and serious regional border threats from China, with continued military aggression by the government of China along the India-China border.
While India has started importing the S-400 missile defence system from Russia, US President Joe Biden is yet to take a call on CAATSA waiver sanctions. Under the existing laws, the president can give a national interest waiver to countries.
Khanna said that this is a strong bill to affirm the US and India defence partnership.
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