American Sanctions after India’s 1998 Nuclear Tests

Bill Clinton imposed sanctions on India on 13 May 1998, two days after its nuclear testing. American law required the response: most assistance was cut off, military sales and financing stopped, and American government credit barred, with exceptions for food and humanitarian aid. [1]

The tests made nuclear weapons the immediate problem in a relationship both governments had been trying to improve. Washington also opposed most new lending to India by international financial institutions and restricted American bank loans to the Indian government, extending the penalties into ordinary economic relations. [1]

Strobe Talbott, the deputy secretary of state, continued diplomacy through months of discussions with Indian and Pakistani officials after both countries tested nuclear devices. By November, the administration reported commitments to moratoria on further tests, and Clinton used authority granted by Congress to ease some sanctions. India retained its weapons; the talks sought to limit further escalation while allowing the wider relationship to recover. [2]

Related Diplomats

1. Naresh Chandra [3] [4] [5]
2. Riaz Hussain Khokhar [6]

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• India and the United States