[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.