[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.





                                
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