[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 38 (Tuesday, March 19, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H2330-H2331]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  PROPOSED AGREEMENT FOR COOPERATION BETWEEN GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED 
STATES AND GOVERNMENT OF ARGENTINE REPUBLIC CONCERNING PEACEFUL USES OF 
  NUCLEAR ENERGY--MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (H. 
                           DOC. NO. 104-188)

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and, together 
with the accompanying papers, without objection, 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

[[Page H2331]]

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 1970's 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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