President Donald Trump has forwarded a proposed civil nuclear energy agreement with Saudi Arabia to Congress, according to a U.S. administration official cited by Reuters. The agreement, reached in July, would permit U.S. companies to export civilian nuclear technology to the Kingdom. However, the official emphasized that the pact will only take effect if Saudi Arabia normalizes relations with Israel, aligning with the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords.

The 30-year nuclear deal envisions the construction of AP1000 reactors, a project potentially worth tens of billions of dollars, which would benefit Westinghouse, a company jointly owned by Canada-based Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management. The deal was transmitted to congressional leaders on Monday and is slated for committee review on Wednesday. Unless Congress raises objections within the 90-day session period, the agreement will become effective. Should Congress reject the accord, Trump could issue a veto, which would necessitate a two-thirds majority in Congress to override. Critics, including some Democratic lawmakers and nonproliferation advocates, have expressed concerns that the pact lacks provisions explicitly prohibiting Saudi Arabia from enriching uranium or reprocessing nuclear waste, measures considered essential for preventing nuclear weapon development. The Trump administration, however, asserts that the deal incorporates the necessary nonproliferation safeguards required by law. ¹

Footnotes

1. Gardner, T., & Landay, J. (2023, August 25). Trump sends Saudi nuclear deal to Congress but says Riyadh must recognize Israel. Yahoo News. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-sends-saudi-nuclear-deal-232719106.html ↩

This is a summary. Read the original at yahoo.com.