§2157 Additional Export Criterion and Procedures

Summary

The United States must not send source material, special nuclear material, nuclear reactors or other sensitive nuclear technology to a country that does not have International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards covering all of its peaceful nuclear activities at the time of the export. The President must try to get recipient non-nuclear-weapon states to accept those IAEA safeguards. (IAEA safeguards = international inspections and monitoring of peaceful nuclear work.) This rule applies to export requests filed after eighteen months from March 10, 1978, or to any request where the first export would happen at least twenty-four months after March 10, 1978. If the President finds that denying an export would seriously harm U.S. non-proliferation goals or national security, a license can be issued, but certain exports (like reactors or fuel for reactors) cannot go until the first such license is sent to Congress with a full explanation and Congress has 60 days of continuous session to review it. During that 60-day review Congress can pass a concurrent resolution to block the export. If Congress blocks it, no more of those exports may be made to that country during that Congress unless the country meets the safeguard rule or the President tells Congress that significant progress or important U.S. foreign policy reasons justify reconsidering and Congress does not pass a blocking resolution. If Congress does not block the first submitted license, the safeguard rule will not be used as a barrier for that country, but the first license issued after twelve months from the end of the 60-day review and the first license after each following 12‑month period must be sent to Congress for review. If Congress later adopts a disapproval during any review period, the rule that stopped exports will apply again.