An agreement reached Sunday between the United States and India that the Obama administration said aims to at long last clear hurdles on a previous deal to allow U.S. nuclear energy technology firms to sell their wares in the subcontinent.

The deal addressed concerns from U.S. companies over a 2005 agreement that they said would hold American firms liable for accidents or malfunctions in India. That deal, signed by former President George W. Bush, aimed to increase civil nuclear cooperation between the countries, but the liability question has kept U.S. companies out of India.