Nuclear Materials in United States

Prohibited Exports of Nuclear Materials, Facilities or Components in the History of U.S. Economic Sanctions Imposed against China

Note: the status of this economic sanction is: Active

Date of the sanction(s): DECEMBER 16, 1985

On July 23, 1985, China and the United States signed a bilateral Agreement for Cooperation Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the People’s Republic of China Concerning Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy. When Congress took up the matter, it enacted an approval resolution that conditioned nuclear cooperation under the agreement on presidential certification of certain conditions. No export licenses (including for end-user, transfer, or retransfer) would be issued for nuclear material, facilities, or components covered by the agreement until the President certified that: (1) reciprocal arrangements ensured all goods in question were for peaceful purposes; (2) China had provided additional information regarding its nuclear nonproliferation policies and from such information it could be concluded that China was not in violation of section 129 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954; and (3) certain terms of the agreement would not prejudice United States licensing procedures [22].

Sanctions by Authority:

Public Law 99-183 (99 Stat. 1174)

Occasion(s) Detailed

See February 16, 1990, for further sanctions relating to nuclear cooperation

Note: Based on the China: U.S. Economic Sanctions Report.

Resources

Notes and References

1. 22 Spector, Leonard S. Nuclear Ambitions. Westview Press, 1990. p. 62.