Part 4 of 4 parts (Please read Part 3 first)
The Saudi interest in the construction of a nuclear power reactor excited efforts on the part of the U.S. government. Rick Perry, the new Secretary of Energy is spearheading the U.S. activities. Perry had heard the IP3 pitch earlier in the year. He is promoting support for coal and nuclear power in the U.S. In September, Perry met with a Saudi delegation that was attending an international conference supporting nuclear power to discuss cooperation on the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Soon after Perry met with the Saudi delegation, a senior official from the Department of Energy flew to the Saudi capitol to discuss the start of the 123 process. This November, representatives from the U.S. Departments of Energy and State were members of a commercial delegation to Abu Dhabi. The delegation was headed by a member of the Nuclear Energy Institute which is the main nuclear industry lobbying organization in Washington. D.C.
The Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy stated that the Trump administration intends to revitalize the U.S. nuclear industry including exporting nuclear reactors to foreign buyers such as Saudi Arabia. The Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration and the Energy Department are putting together another nuclear industry visit to Saudi Arabia for December.
The Trump administration has not official taken a position on whether it will provide enrichment and reprocessing technology to the Saudis. However, the administration has begun to approach advisors on the potential reaction of Congress to giving Saudi Arabia this sensitive nuclear technology.
Now, at the end of November, some Senators are beginning to raise questions. Recently, the NSC official who has been nominated to lead the State Department’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation has testified to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the administration is holding preliminary discussions about nuclear technology but gave no details to the public. He told the Senators, “It remains U.S. policy, as it has been for some time, to seek the strongest possible nonproliferation protections in every instance.” “It is not a legal requirement. It is a desired outcome.” Senator Ed Markey appears to oppose supplying such technology to the Saudis. He said, “If we continue down this pathway, then there’s a recipe for disaster which we are absolutely creating ourselves.”
If the U.S. does cut a deal with Saudi Arabia to provide sensitive nuclear technology, it would not need Senate approval. On the other hand, if a deal is struck, then the two houses of Congress would have ninety days to pass a joint resolution rejecting the deal.
Senator Ben Cardin suggested that Congress would not accept any deal that did not contain the provision about nuclear technology in the UAE and Egyptian agreements. He said, “If we don’t draw a line in the Middle East, it’s going to be all-out proliferation.” “We need to maintain the UAE’s standards in our 123 agreements. There’s just too many other countries that could start proliferating issues that could be against our national interest.”
Senator Bob Corker who is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has been a staunch opponent of the proliferation of nuclear weapons and dual use technology. He was sharply critical of the Obama administration because he felt they were not doing enough to prevent proliferation. At a hearing in 2014, Corker said, “The absence of a consistent policy weakens our nuclear nonproliferation efforts, and sends a mixed message to those nations we seek to prevent from gaining or enhancing such capability.” “Which standards can we expect the administration to reach for negotiating new agreements with Jordan or Saudi Arabia?”
