The Trump administration presented 123 new agreements with Mexico and the United Kingdom to Congress in May 2018. The United Kingdom was previously covered by the agreement between the United States and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) 123, but after the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the bilateral agreement between the United States and the EU will enter into force. Japan`s agreement technically expired in 2018, but the terms of the extension stipulate that the agreement will remain in force until it is denounced by a party. The capabilities of the ENR are controversial, as the process converts crude uranium into highly enriched uranium or spent nuclear fuel into military plutonium. While these capabilities are generally used for energy purposes, there are concerns about serious proliferation risks when a country receives the technology, given that the same technology can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons. The gold standard provisions for 123 agreements would require each state party to an agreement 123 with the United States to renounce the activities of the ENR. The Department of Energy and the U.S. nuclear industry support the continuation of the case-by-case approach, which has been followed so far in extension agreements. A case-by-case approach allows countries to apply for an ENR authorisation and has been successfully followed by India and Japan. As of March 28, 2019, the United States has implemented 23 such agreements governing peaceful nuclear cooperation with 48 countries, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and Taiwanese government authorities (through the American Institute of Taiwan), as described below. The President may exclude a proposed agreement from any of the above criteria if he asserts that maintaining such a criterion ”would be seriously prejudicial to the achievement of the United States. Jeopardize non-proliferation objectives or, in any other way, the common defense of the United States. The 123 exempted agreements would then be subject to a different process than the non-exempt agreements, which would require a joint congressional resolution to approve the agreement to become law. There are not 123 agreements in force that have been adopted with such exceptions.
In addition, the United Arab Emirates has also agreed to ratify the Model Additional Protocol of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The purpose of the Additional Protocol is to provide a more complete picture of a State`s nuclear and nuclear activities, including related imports and exports, and to significantly expand the IAEA`s inspection authorities. In recent years, the United States has not negotiated an agreement 123 with a state that had not signed an additional protocol. For more information on the various agreements, please see the Congressional Research Service`s ”Nuclear Cooperation with Other Countries: A Primer.” A 123-year agreement alone does not allow countries to enrich or process nuclear material purchased by the United States, and authorization to do so requires another negotiated agreement. A debate is under way within the Non-Proliferation Community on the ”gold standard”, designated following the agreement between the United States and the United Arab Emirates (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES) signed in 2009, in which the United Arab Emirates voluntarily renounced the continuation of enrichment and reprocessing technologies (RES). The UAE`s agreement stands in stark contrast to the ”general consent” granted to India, Japan and Euratom, which have the authorization of the US NR. U.S. Section 123 The Atomic Energy Act (AEA) of 1954 set the conditions and outlined the process of comprehensive nuclear cooperation between the United States and other countries.
For a country to enter into such an agreement with the United States, it must commit to a number of nine non-proliferation criteria. . . .
