[House Document 105-161]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
105th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - House Document 105-161
COOPERATION CONCERNING PEACEFUL USES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY BETWEEN THE
UNITED STATES AND BRAZIL
__________
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 FEDERATIVE
REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL CONCERNING PEACEFUL USES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY WITH
ACCOMPANYING ANNEX AND AGREED MINUTE, PURSUANT TO 42 U.S.C. 2153(d)
October 30, 1997.--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 Federative Republic
of Brazil 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 Brazil has been negotiated in
accordance with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended by
the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978 and as otherwise
amended. In my judgment, the proposed agreement meets all
statutory requirements and will advance the nonproliferation
and other foreign policy interests of the United States. The
agreement provides a comprehensive framework for peaceful
nuclear cooperative between the United States and Brazil under
appropriate conditions and controls reflecting a strong common
commitment to nuclear nonproliferation goals.
The proposed new agreement will replace an existing United
States-Brazil agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation that
entered into force on September 20, 1972, and by its terms
would expire on September 20, 2002. The United States suspended
cooperation with Brazil under the 1972 agreement in the late
1970s because Brazil did not satisfy a provision of section 128
of the Atomic Energy Act (added by the Nuclear Non-
Proliferation Act of 1978) that required full-scope
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards in
nonnuclear weapon states such as Brazil as a condition for
continued significant U.S. nuclear exports.
On December 13, 1991, Brazil, together with Argentina, the
Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of
Nuclear Materials (ABAAC) and the IAEA signed a quadrilateral
agreement calling for the application of full-scope IAEA
safeguards in Brazil and Argentina. This safeguards agreement
was brought into force on March 4, 1994. Resumption of
cooperation would be possible under the 1972 United States-
Brazil agreement for cooperation. However, both the United
States and Brazil 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 nonproliferation commitments
entered into by the Parties since 1972.
--Over the past several years Brazil 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, Brazil has taken the following important
nonproliferation steps.
--It has formally renounced nuclear weapons development in
the Foz do Iguazsu declaration with Argentina in 1990;
--It has renounced ``peaceful nuclear explosives'' in the
1991 Treaty of Guadalajara with Argentina;
--It has brought the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear
Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of
Tlatelolco) into force for itself on May 30, 1994;
--It has instituted more stringent domestic controls on
nuclear exports and become a member of the Nuclear Suppliers
Group; and
--It has announced its intention, on June 20, 1997, to
accede to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
The proposed new agreement with Brazil 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 1972 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 using items subject to the
agreement; a right to require the return of items subject to
the agreement in all circumstances for which U.S. law requires
such a right; a guarantee of adequate physical security; and
rights to approve enrichment of uranium subject to the
agreement and alteration in form or consent of sensitive
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 provided for in section 123 d. shall commence.
William J. Clinton.
The White House, October 30, 1997.