[House Document 104-188]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
104th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - House Document 104-188
PROPOSED AGREEMENT FOR COOPERATION BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC
CONCERNING PEACEFUL USES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
__________
MESSAGE
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
THE TEXT OF A PROPOSED AGREEMENT FOR COOPERATION BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT
OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE ARGENTINE
REPUBLIC CONCERNING PEACEFUL USES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY WITH ACCOMPANYING
ANNEX AND AGREED MINUTE, PURSUANT TO 42 U.S.C. 2153 (b) AND (d)
March 19, 1996.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the
Committee on International Relations and ordered to be printed
To the Congress of the United States:
I am pleased to transmit to the Congress, pursuant to
sections 123 b. and 123 d. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended (42 U.S.C. 2153(b), (d)), the text of a proposed
Agreement for Cooperation Between the Government of the United
States of America and the Government of the Argentine Republic
Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy with accompanying
annex and agreed minute. I am also pleased to transmit my
written approval, authorization, and determination concerning
the agreement, and the memorandum of the Director of the United
States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency with the Nuclear
Proliferation Assessment Statement concerning the agreement.
The joint memorandum submitted to me by the Secretary of State
and the Secretary of Energy, which includes a summary of the
provisions of the agreement and various other attachments,
including agency views, is also enclosed.
The proposed agreement with the Argentine Republic has been
negotiated in accordance with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978 (NNPA) and
as otherwise amended. In my judgment, the proposed agreement
meets all statutory requirements and will advance the non-
proliferation and other foreign policy interests of the United
States. The agreement provides a comprehensive framework for
peaceful nuclear cooperation between the United States and
Argentina under appropriate conditions and controls reflecting
a strong common commitment to nuclear non-proliferation goals.
The proposed new agreement will replace an existing U.S.-
Argentina agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation that
entered into force on July 25, 1969, and by its terms would
expire on July 25, 1999. The United States suspended
cooperation with Argentina under the 1969 agreement in the late
1970s because Argentina did not satisfy a provision of section
128 of the Atomic Energy Act (added by the NNPA) that required
full-scope International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards
in nonnuclear weapon states such as Argentina as a condition
for continued significant U.S. nuclear exports.
On December 13, 1991, Argentina, together with Brazil, the
Argentine-Brazilian Agency for Accounting and Control of
Nuclear Materials (ABACC) and the IAEA signed a quadrilateral
agreement calling for the application of full-scope IAEA
safeguards in Argentina and Brazil. This safeguards agreement
was brought into force in March 1994. Resumption of cooperation
would be possible under the 1969 U.S.-Argentina agreement for
cooperation. However, both the United States and Argentina
believe it is preferable to launch a new era of cooperation
with a new agreement that reflects, among other things:
An updating of terms and conditions to take account
of intervening changes in the respective domestic legal
and regulatory frameworks of the parties in the area of
peaceful nuclear cooperation;
Reciprocity in the application of the terms and
conditions of cooperation between the parties; and
Additional international non-proliferation
commitments entered into by the parties since 1969.
Over the past several years Argentina has made a definitive
break with earlier ambivalent nuclear policies and has embraced
wholeheartedly a series of important steps demonstrating its
firm commitment to the exclusively peaceful uses of nuclear
energy. In addition to its full-scope safeguards agreement with
the IAEA, Argentina has made the following major non-
proliferation commitments:
It brought the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear
Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of
Tlatelolco) into force for itself on January 18, 1994;
It became a full member of the Nuclear Suppliers
Group in April 1994; and
It acceded to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons (NPT) on February 10, 1995.
Once Argentina's commitment to full-scope IAEA safeguards
was clear, and in anticipation of the additional steps
subsequently taken by Argentina to adopt responsible policies
on nuclear non-proliferation, the United States entered into
negotiations with Argentina on a new agreement for peaceful
nuclear cooperation and reached ad referendum agreement on a
text on September 3, 1992. Further steps to conclude the
agreement were interrupted, however, by delays (not all of them
attributable to Argentina) in bringing the full-scope IAEA
safeguards agreement into force, and by steps, recently
completed, to resolve issues relating to Argentina's
eligibility under section 129 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act to
receive U.S. nuclear exports. As the agreement text initialed
with Argentina in 1992 continues to satisfy current U.S. legal
and policy requirements, no revision has been necessary.
The proposed new agreement with Argentina permits the
transfer of technology, material, equipment (including
reactors), and components for nuclear research and nuclear
power production. It provides for U.S. consent rights to
retransfers, enrichment, and reprocessing as required by U.S.
law. It does not permit transfers of any sensitive nuclear
technology, restricted data, or sensitive nuclear facilities or
major critical components thereof. In the event of termination,
key conditions and controls continue with respect to material
and equipment subject to the agreement.
From the U.S. perspective the proposed new agreement
improves on the 1969 agreement by the addition of a number of
important provisions. These include the provisions for full-
scope safeguards; perpetuity of safeguards; a ban on
``peaceful'' nuclear explosives; a right to require the return
of exported nuclear items in certain circumstances; a guarantee
of adequate physical protection; and a consent right to
enrichment of nuclear material subject to the agreement.
I have considered the views and recommendations of the
interested agencies in reviewing the proposed agreement and
have determined that its performance will promote, and will not
constitute an unreasonable risk to, the common defense and
security. Accordingly, I have approved the agreement and
authorized its execution and urge that the Congress give it
favorable consideration.
Because this agreement meets all applicable requirements of
the Atomic Energy Act, as amended, for agreements for peaceful
nuclear cooperation, I am transmitting it to the Congress
without exempting it from any requirement contained in section
123 a. of that Act. This transmission shall constitute a
submittal for purposes of both sections 123 b. and 123 d. of
the Atomic Energy Act. The Administration is prepared to begin
immediately the consultations with the Senate Foreign Relations
and House International Relations Committees as provided in
section 123 b. Upon completion of the 30-day continuous session
period provided for in section 123 b., the 60-day continuous
session period provided for in section 123 d. shall commence.
William J. Clinton.
The White House, March 18, 1996.