Section 123 Nuclear Cooperation Agreements

A Section 123 agreement is a bilateral agreement that establishes the legal framework for peaceful nuclear cooperation between the United States and another country or international organization. It is named after Section 123 of the United States Atomic Energy Act of 1954, which generally requires such an agreement before specified nuclear materials, equipment or technology can be transferred.

Purpose and scope

The agreement enables civil nuclear cooperation while imposing conditions intended to ensure that transferred items are used only for peaceful purposes. It does not itself authorize every export, which remains subject to separate United States licensing and statutory requirements.

• Cooperation may cover nuclear material, reactors, equipment, components and related technology, depending on the agreement.
• The agreement defines the parties' rights and obligations concerning use, safeguards, physical security, storage and subsequent transfers.

Non-proliferation conditions

Section 123 prescribes nine non-proliferation criteria that agreements should satisfy. Their application varies with the recipient's legal status and the terms approved under United States law.

• Transferred nuclear material and equipment must remain under agreed safeguards and must not be used for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.
• The recipient generally requires prior United States consent for retransfers and for activities such as enrichment or reprocessing of covered material.
• The United States retains statutory rights concerning termination of cooperation and the return of transferred items in specified circumstances.

Approval and India's agreement

A proposed agreement is negotiated by the executive branch and submitted to the United States Congress for review under the Atomic Energy Act. Agreements not meeting all statutory criteria require special congressional approval rather than the ordinary review procedure.

• The India-United States civil nuclear agreement was concluded under Section 123 and entered into force in 2008.
• Because India was outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty framework, implementation also required country-specific United States legislation and a Nuclear Suppliers Group waiver.
• The arrangement opened civil nuclear commerce while placing India's designated civilian nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards.

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