[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.


    

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