will not constitute an unreasonable risk to the common defense and

security;"

(3) The proposed agreement, together with the approval and de

termination of the President, has been submitted to the Joint Com

mittee and has lain before the Committee for thirty days; and

(4) Certain agreements, together with the President's approval

and determination have lain before the Joint Committee for sixty

days during which Congress by concurrent resolution may state it

does not favor the proposed agreement.

For these agreements,

the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy is required to report its

views and recommendations to Congress during the first 30 days

and to supply a draft concurrent resolution stating in substance

that the Congress favors or does not favor the agreement. * As for terms and conditions of the agreements, Congress specified in

Section 123 that each agreement must include:

(1) The terms, conditions, duration, nature, and scope of the co

operation;

(2) A guaranty by the cooperating party that security safeguards

and standards agreed upon will be maintained; and

* The agreements which are to receive this special attention are those involving a nuclear reactor that may be capable of producing more than five thermal megawatts or special nuclear materials for use in connection therewith. Also included are agreements arranged under subsection 91(c) of the Act (dealing with military applications), and under subsections 144(b) and (c) (dealing with international cooperation for weapons.)

(3) A guaranty by the cooperating party that any material and

any restricted data to be transferred will not be transferred to

unauthorized persons or beyond the jurisdiction of the cooperating

party except as specified in the agreement. *

Negotiation of agreements for cooperation. --The Department of State

1

and the Energy Research and Development Administration are the two agencies primarily responsible for drafting and negotiating agreements for co

operation.

An Executive order in 1959 by President Eisenhower specified that the

egotiating functions are to be performed by or under the authority of the

Secretary of State and further specified that international cooperation under

the Act shall be subject to the responsibility of the Secretary of State with

respect to the foreign policy of the United States pertinent thereto. **

It

appears that since then the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and now the

Energy Research and Development Administration have had the major re

sponsibility of drafting and negotiating the agreements, finally submitting

them to the Department of State for review.

U.S. control of nuclear exports. --The agreements for cooperation provide a framework for commercial exports of nuclear materials, equipment

and technology to agreement nations. However, many of the commercial transactions are subject to government controls. The Nuclear Regulatory

* Restricted data is a term with special meaning under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, It is defined as "all data concerning (1) design, manufacture, or utilization of atomic weapons; (2) the production of special nuclear material; or (3) the use of special nuclear material in the production of energy, **Executive Order 10841. September 30, 1959

Commission licenses the commercial export of source and special nuclear

materials to agreement nations and also the nuclear part of nuclear power

plants and fabricated nuclear fuel. The Energy Research and Development Administration, by regulating activities of U.S. nationals abroad, controls one important avenue for the export of nuclear technology and know-how. The Department of Commerce licenses the export of parts to nuclear power plants which are not controlled by the Commission. In addition, the Administration can directly export nuclear items through government-to-go

vernment transfers that require no NRC license.

The export control authority of the Energy Research and Development

Administration is of particular interest as one approach to controlling the

export of technology.

Section 57(b) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 as

amended makes it unlawful for any person to directly or indirectly engage

in the production of any special nuclear material outis de of the United States

except (1) under an agreement for cooperation, or (2) upon authorization by the Commission (now ERDA) after a determination that such activity will

not be inimical to the interest of the United States.

This function went to

the Administration in the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974. Using this

authority, the Administration's regulations now require authorization for the following activities by U.S. nationals: *

(i) Designing or assisting in the design of facilities for the chemical processing of irradiated special nuclear material, facilities for the production of heavy water, facilities for the separation

* Unclassified activities in foreign atomic energy programs, 10 CFR 810. Federal Register, vol. 40, Sept. 30, 1975: 44826-44828.

of isotopes of uranium, or equipment or components especially
designed for any of the foregoing; or

(ii) Constructing, fabricating, or operating such facilities;

or

(iii) Furnishing information not available to the public in published form for use in the design, construction, fabrication, or operation of such facilities or equipment or components especially designed therefore.

The regulations appear to require, for example, authorization for a U.S. engineering firm to design a fuel reprocessing plant for a foreign country, or to send its engineers abroad to help in such design. By so con

trolling the activities of experts and companies in the nuclear industry, the Administration controls some export of technology. Note that if a company proposes to export a fuel reprocessing plant, it has to get a Commission

license.

How these respective authorities will interact in the future is not

clear. For example, could ERDA insist that it must authorize the design part of an export while the Commission licenses the physical part? Which

agency would control follow-on technical assistance and servicing associated

with a major export of U.S. nuclear equipment ?

Differing criteria for decisions. -- Under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 as amended, the President, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the

Energy Research and Development Administration all make decisions of one kind or another concerning nuclear cooperation and exports, some of which involve statutory criteria for decision. Table I identifies eight such decisions and the associated statutory criteria. Criteria for five decisions require consideration of national defense and security, two require consideration of risk to the public health and safety, and one consideration