[House Document 106-166]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



106th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 106-166


 
                      STATEMENT OF JUSTIFICATION

                               __________

                             COMMUNICATION

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

                      A STATEMENT OF JUSTIFICATION




January 27, 2000.--Referred to the Committee on International Relations 
                       and ordered to be printed

                               __________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
70-011                     WASHINGTON : 2000

                                           The White House,
                                     Washington, December 22, 1999.
Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Speaker: In accordance with the resolution of 
advice and consent to ratification of the Convention on the 
Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use 
of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, adopted by the 
Senate of the United States on April 24, 1997, I hereby certify 
in connection with Condition (7)(C)(i), Effectiveness of 
Australia Group, that:

          Australia Group members continue to maintain an 
        equally effective or more comprehensive control over 
        the export of toxic chemicals and their precursors, 
        dual-use processing equipment, human, animal, and plant 
        pathogens and toxins with potential biological weapons 
        application, and dual-use biological equipment, as that 
        afforded by the Australia Group as of April 25, 1997; 
        and,
          The Australia Group remains a viable mechanism for 
        limiting the spread of chemical and biological weapons-
        related materials and technology, and the effectiveness 
        of the Australia Group has not been undermined by 
        changes in membership, lack of compliance with common 
        export controls and nonproliferation measures, or the 
        weakening of common controls and nonproliferation 
        measures, in force as of April 25, 1997.

            Sincerely,
                                                William J. Clinton.
                       Statement of Justification

    Since entry into force of the Chemical Weapons Convention 
(CWC) in 1997, the 30-member Australia Group (AG) chemical and 
biological weapons (CBW) nonproliferation regime has held three 
annual plenary meetings. At all three meetings, AG participants 
reaffirmed that universal adherence to and compliance with the 
1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and the CWC will be 
the most effective way to rid the world of chemical and 
biological weapons.
    AG participants also affirmed that implementing national 
export licensing controls on CBW-related items is an important 
way of meeting their national obligations under the CWC and the 
BWC to prevent the intentional or inadvertent supply by their 
nationals of materials or equipment to CBW programs. AG 
participants agreed that their national CBW export controls are 
fully consistent and compatible with the CWC and the BWC. At 
the 1997, 1998 and 1999 plenaries, no delegation noted any 
diminution in national implementation of export controls.
    While no additions or deletions have been made to the 
overall AG control list, at the 1999 plenary a number of minor 
clarifications were made to existing entries, such as:
           exempting from AG licensing requirements 
        certain medical products and diagnostic test kits that 
        posed no proliferation risk;
           adopting a rounding rule for trace 
        impurities in mixtures containing AG-controlled CWC 
        Schedule One mixtures; and,
           agreeing to reformat the AG control list 
        along the lines of the control lists for the other 
        nonproliferation regimes.
    These clarifications do not reduce the scope of the current 
controls.
    At the 1999 plenary, AG participants again agreed to 
continue a program to promote greater awareness and 
understanding of the important role that national export 
licensing measures play in preventing CBW proliferation. This 
program will continue to include briefings for non-AG countries 
and regional seminars on export licensing practices with 
particular emphasis on transshipment countries.
    Since entry into force of the CWC, there has been no change 
in AG membership.
    Throughout 1999, the Administration has provided several 
well-received briefings on the AG to staff of the House 
International Relations Committee and Senate Foreign Relations 
Committee.

                                  
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