    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
    [October 30, 1997]
    [Pages 1459-1461]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Message to the Congress Transmitting the Brazil-United States Peaceful
    Nuclear Cooperation Agreement With Documentation
    October 30, 1997

    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 cooperation between the United States and Brazil under
    appropriate conditions and controls reflecting a strong common
    commitment to nuclear nonproliferation goals.

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        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

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    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.