§2158 Conduct Resulting in Termination of Nuclear Exports

Summary

Stops exports of nuclear materials, equipment, or sensitive nuclear technology to any non-nuclear-weapon state or group the President finds, after March 10, 1978, to have done things like detonated a nuclear device, ended or broken IAEA safeguards, seriously violated IAEA safeguard agreements, carried out activities with source or special nuclear material that help make nuclear explosives without making enough progress to stop, or otherwise materially violated U.S. cooperation terms or helped others do those things. The President can allow exports anyway if stopping them would seriously hurt U.S. non‑proliferation goals or the nation’s defense, but must send a written determination and reasons to Congress and to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate for 60 days of continuous session; the determination does not take effect if Congress passes a joint resolution during that 60‑day period. Also bars exports, reexports, transfers, or retransfers of the same nuclear items and sensitive technology to any country the Secretary of State has named as a state sponsor of terrorism. It excepts radiation‑monitoring, safety, and related equipment unless those items can be used to design or build reactors or weapons. The President may waive the ban if he certifies to Congress that the waiver will not increase the country’s risk of getting nuclear weapons, reactors, or weapon parts and if one of these is true: the country has not, in the preceding 12‑month period, willfully helped others get nuclear explosives or unsafeguarded nuclear material; the President judges the country has given adequate, verifiable assurances it will stop supporting international terrorism; the waiver is vital to U.S. national security; or the waiver is needed to prevent or respond to a serious radiological hazard that threatens public health and safety.