Good Practice in the Compliance and Licensing of Nuclear Exports

Good Practice in the Compliance and Licensing of Nuclear Exports Title: Good Practice in the Compliance and Licensing of Nuclear Exports Produced by: World Nuclear Association Published: August 2015 Report No. 2015/006 © 2015 World Nuclear Association. Registered in England and Wales, company number 01215741 This report reflects the views of industry experts but does not necessarily represent those of any of the World Nuclear Association’s individual member organizations. Contents Executive Summary 1 1. Introduction 3 2. An International Industry 4 3. The Export Control Regime 6 4. Good Practice in Compliance 22 5. Good Licensing Practice 24 6. Developing Regulator-Industry Cooperation 26 7. Streamlining the Export Control Regime 29 8. Summary of Recommendations 32 Appendix: The Export Control Survey and Results 33 Abbreviations AFCONE African Commission on Nuclear Energy ASNO Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office CAEA Chinese Atomic Energy Authority CFR US Code of Federal Regulations CoCom Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls COSTIND Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence of China C-TPAT US Customs-Trade Partnership against Terrorism DoC US Department of Commerce DoE US Department of Energy EC European Council EU European Union EURATOM European Atomic Energy Community IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency INCOTERMS International Commercial Terms (published by the International Chamber of Commerce) IP Intellectual property ISO International Organization for Standardization IT Information technology ITER International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor KINAC Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation & Control LWR Light water reactor METI Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan NPT Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons NRC US Nuclear Regulatory Commission NSG Nuclear Suppliers Group PHWR Pressurized heavy water reactor SCOMET Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technology UAE United Arab Emirates UK United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland UNODA United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs UN SC United Nations Security Council USA United States of America USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics WMD Weapon(s) of Mass Destruction Executive Summary Nuclear energy is making a growing contribution to a reconfigured low-carbon electricity supply system around the world. Trade in nuclear fuel, reactor systems and components has the potential to reach $40 billion a year, but despite the removal of many technical barriers to trade in other strategic sectors, governments continue to impose strict controls on nuclear exports. In this report, the World Nuclear Association maps the strategic export control landscape and identifies examples of good practice by suppliers and export control authorities. We propose a number of measures for streamlining licensing and for improving communication with the industry. Export controls aim to preclude states and unauthorized entities from acquiring materials, equipment and technology that could be used to make a nuclear or radiological weapon. The world nuclear industry contributes to countering this threat through robust internal compliance programs at company level to ensure that transactions do not involve suspect parties. Export control authorities should be able to recognize good practice by extending authorized (or trusted) economic operator status to companies that apply diligently a robust and comprehensive internal compliance program to their operations. Most export control authorities do not issue general export licences for nuclear-related items, even though they do issue such licences for certain non- nuclear dual-use items, which places the nuclear industry at a disadvantage in comparison with the aerospace and defence industries. The degree of scrutiny accorded to nuclear technology should be risk-based. A nuclear power reactor poses a relatively low technology risk with respect to proliferation. The same is true for components, spare parts, and maintenance or repair services for an existing nuclear facility that is subject to international safeguards. Under a risk-based approach the export of components and complete power reactors should be made possible under general authorization, without a prior individual licence, to another country that is a participating state in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), subject to notification being provided to the national authorities of the exporting and importing countries concerned. Within free trade areas, like the European Union’s single market, shipments should be notifiable but otherwise unrestricted. Nuclear fuel assemblies are composed of fissile material and therefore pose a greater proliferation risk than a nuclear reactor itself (which cannot operate without fuel). However, as nuclear fuel is normally made of low-enriched uranium it should not be subject to a requirement for licence approval prior to shipment between NSG participating states, as they have accepted International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitoring. There should be general authorization for low-enriched fuel exports with a simple reporting requirement to the strategic goods control authorities of the countries involved in the shipments. Enrichment and reprocessing technologies are associated with a higher proliferation risk and there is thus greater justification for licensing each transaction through an individual application for export. Resources can be better employed if exporters and governments made greater use of risk assessment. Destinations of concern could be checked out (‘red 1 flagged’), while those that are already under international safeguards would be accepted as eligible to be fast-tracked. The trade and investment agreements between the EU and Canada and the EU and the USA, which is being negotiated currently, offer a mechanism to address the technical barriers to trade in the nuclear sector in future. The same considerations could apply once the Trans-Pacific Partnership comes into force. The NSG should do more to exchange information and engage with the industry. A forum for industry-regulator cooperation in the export control and counter-proliferation area involving the relevant inter-governmental organizations including the IAEA, NSG, Wassenaar Arrangement and the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs would be useful. An industry-driven road map for streamlining the international export control regime endorsed by the relevant inter-governmental organizations would make an excellent starting point. The World Nuclear Association is ready to collaborate in building an effective and efficient export control regime, based on improved communication and a more internationally consistent approach. 2 1 Introduction The civil nuclear power industry control authorities. In the first half of operates under a special 2013 the World Nuclear Association international regulatory regime surveyed its membership to designed to ensure a high level understand better the complexities of safety and to safeguard its in practice of obtaining export (and technology against misuse. An import) licences and clarify the main overarching regulatory framework issues associated with compliance. is provided by the International It was sent to 62 organizations and Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) but 20 returns were received – a 32 authority for controlling international percent response rate – covering trade in nuclear technology, goods 12 countries. This survey and a and services lies with national summary of its results are included in governments. Inevitably there are the Appendix. differences in regulation and a web of bilateral and multilateral The report concludes with some agreements has been built up since suggestions for measures to the 1950s. Such variations may streamline licensing and to improve introduce additional compliance communication with the industry. It is costs for global supply chains which hoped that this paper will contribute can then hamper the development of to building a more collaborative an open international trading system. and internationally consistent export control regime. The aim of this report is to map the strategic export control landscape This paper does not consider issues and identify examples of good relating to export restrictions that are practice by suppliers and export area or country specific. 3 An International 2 Industry Nuclear power is making a growing According to International Trade contribution to supplying low-carbon Centre trade statistics, the estimated energy worldwide. There are 438 value of world exports of radioactive operable reactors in 30 countries. chemical elements, including natural Another ten countries are building or and enriched uranium, thorium, planning to build reactors. Over 60 fabricated and irradiated fuel, and percent of the world’s people already radioisotopes in 2013 amounted to live in countries where nuclear- $13 billion.1 The export of natural generated electricity is being supplied. uranium accounts for well over By 2030 the population benefiting one half of this international trade. from nuclear power will most likely Natural uranium is mined in around have risen from 3.4 billion to around 20 countries. It is converted into 5.5 billion, even after allowing for the a suitable form for enrichment fact that a few countries (Germany, for by companies including AREVA, example) have decided to phase out Cameco, the China National Nuclear the technology. The spread of nuclear Corporation, ConverDyn,

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