SAUDI WMD Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1146 To counter Saudi Arabia’s possible pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 15, 2021 Mr. MARKEY (for himself and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To counter Saudi Arabia’s possible pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stopping Activities Un- 4 derpinning Development In Weapons of Mass Destruction 5 Act’’ or the ‘‘SAUDI WMD Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress makes the following findings: 8 (1) The People’s Republic of China (in this Act 9 referred to as ‘‘China’’), became a full-participant of 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Apr 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1146.IS S1146 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1146 IS the Nuclear Suppliers Group in 2004, committing it 1 to apply a strong presumption of denial in exporting 2 nuclear-related items that a foreign country could 3 divert to a nuclear weapons program. 4 (2) China also committed to the United States, 5 in November 2000, to abide by the foundational 6 principles of the 1987 Missile Technology Control 7 Regime (MTCR) to not ‘‘assist, in any way, any 8 country in the development of ballistic missiles that 9 can be used to deliver nuclear weapons (i.e., missiles 10 capable of delivering a payload of at least 500 kilo- 11 grams to a distance of at least 300 kilometers)’’. 12 (3) In the 1980s, China secretly sold the King- 13 dom of Saudi Arabia (in this Act referred to as 14 ‘‘Saudi Arabia’’) conventionally armed DF–3A bal- 15 listic missiles, and in 2007, reportedly sold Saudi 16 Arabia dual-use capable DF–21 medium-range bal- 17 listic missiles of a 300 kilometer, 500 kilogram 18 range and payload threshold which should have trig- 19 gered a denial of sale under the MTCR. 20 (4) The 2020 Department of State Report on 21 the Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Con- 22 trol, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agree- 23 ments and Commitments found that China ‘‘contin- 24 ued to supply MTCR-controlled goods to missile pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Apr 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1146.IS S1146 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1146 IS grams of proliferation concern in 2019’’ and that 1 the United States imposed sanctions on nine Chinese 2 entities for covered missile transfers to Iran. 3 (5) A June 5, 2019, press report indicated that 4 China allegedly provided assistance to Saudi Arabia 5 in the development of a ballistic missile facility, 6 which if confirmed, would violate the purpose of the 7 MTCR and run contrary to the longstanding United 8 States policy priority to prevent weapons of mass de- 9 struction proliferation in the Middle East. 10 (6) The Arms Export and Control Act of 1976 11 (Public Law 93–329) requires the President to sanc- 12 tion any foreign person or government who know- 13 ingly ‘‘exports, transfers, or otherwise engages in the 14 trade of any MTCR equipment or technology’’ to a 15 country that does not adhere to the MTCR. 16 (7) China concluded two nuclear cooperation 17 agreements with Saudi Arabia in 2012 and 2017, re- 18 spectively, which may facilitate China’s bid to build 19 two reactors in Saudi Arabia to generate 2.9 20 Gigawatt-electric (GWe) of electricity. 21 (8) On August 4, 2020, a press report revealed 22 the alleged existence of a previously undisclosed ura- 23 nium yellowcake extraction facility in Saudi Arabia 24 allegedly constructed with the assistance of China, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Apr 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1146.IS S1146 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1146 IS which if confirmed, would indicate significant 1 progress by Saudi Arabia in developing the early 2 stages of the nuclear fuel cycle that precede uranium 3 enrichment. 4 (9) Saudi Arabia’s outdated Small Quantities 5 Protocol and its lack of an in force Additional Pro- 6 tocol to its International Atomic Energy Agency 7 (IAEA) Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement se- 8 verely curtails IAEA inspections, which has led the 9 Agency to call upon Saudi Arabia to either rescind 10 or update its Small Quantities Protocol. 11 (10) On January 19, 2021, in response to a 12 question about Saudi Arabia’s reported ballistic mis- 13 sile cooperation with China, incoming Secretary of 14 State Antony J. Blinken stated that ‘‘we want to 15 make sure that to the best of our ability all of our 16 partners and allies are living up to their obligations 17 under various nonproliferation and arms control 18 agreements and, certainly, in the case of Saudi Ara- 19 bia that is something we will want to look at’’. 20 (11) On March 15, 2018, the Crown Prince of 21 Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin-Salman, stated that 22 ‘‘if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we would follow 23 suit as soon as possible,’’ raising questions about 24 whether a Saudi Arabian nuclear program would re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Apr 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1146.IS S1146 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1146 IS main exclusively peaceful, particularly in the absence 1 of robust international IAEA safeguards. 2 (12) An August 9, 2019, study by the United 3 Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 4 found that the Saudi Arabia-led military coalition 5 airstrikes in Yemen and its restrictions on the flow 6 of humanitarian assistance to the country, both of 7 which have disproportionately impacted civilians, 8 may be violations of international humanitarian law. 9 SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF POSSIBLE MTCR TRANSFERS 10 TO SAUDI ARABIA. 11 (a) MTCR TRANSFERS.—Not later than 30 days 12 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 13 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 14 a written determination, and any documentation to sup- 15 port that determination detailing— 16 (1) whether any foreign person knowingly ex- 17 ported, transferred, or engaged in trade of any item 18 designated under Category I of the MTCR Annex 19 item with Saudi Arabia in the previous three fiscal 20 years; and 21 (2) the sanctions the President has imposed or 22 intends to impose pursuant to section 11B(b) of the 23 Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. 24 4612(b)) against any foreign person who knowingly 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Apr 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1146.IS S1146 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1146 IS engaged in the export, transfer, or trade of that item 1 or items. 2 (b) WAIVER.—Notwithstanding any provision of 3 paragraphs (3) through (7) of section 11(B)(b) of the Ex- 4 port Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. 4612(b)), the 5 President may only waive the application of sanctions 6 under such section with respect to Saudi Arabia if that 7 country is verifiably determined to no longer possess an 8 item designated under Category I of the MTCR Annex re- 9 ceived in the previous three fiscal years. 10 (c) FORM OF REPORT.—The determination required 11 under subsection (a) shall be unclassified with a classified 12 annex. 13 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON UNITED STATES ARMS SALES TO 14 SAUDI ARABIA IF IT IMPORTS NUCLEAR 15 TECHNOLOGY WITHOUT SAFEGUARDS. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The United States shall not sell, 17 transfer, or authorize licenses for export of any item des- 18 ignated under Category III, IV, VII, or VIII on the United 19 States Munitions List pursuant to section 38(a)(1) of the 20 Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778(a)(1)) to Saudi 21 Arabia, other than ground-based missile defense systems, 22 if Saudi Arabia has, in the previous 3 fiscal years— 23 (1) knowingly imported any item classified as 24 ‘‘plants for the separation of isotopes of uranium’’ 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Apr 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1146.IS S1146 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1146 IS or ‘‘plants for the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear 1 reactor fuel elements’’ under Part 110 of the Nu- 2 clear Regulatory Commission export licensing au- 3 thority; or 4 (2) engaged in nuclear cooperation related to 5 the construction of any nuclear-related fuel cycle fa- 6 cility or activity that has not been notified to the 7 IAEA and would be subject to complementary access 8 if an Additional Protocol was in force. 9 (b) WAIVER.—The Secretary of State may waive the 10 prohibition under subsection (a) with respect to a foreign 11 country if the Secretary submits to the appropriate com- 12 mittees of Congress a written certification that contains 13 a determination, and any relevant documentation on which 14 the determination is based, that Saudi Arabia— 15 (1) has brought into force an Additional Pro- 16 tocol to the IAEA Comprehensive Safeguards Agree- 17 ment based on the model described in IAEA 18 INFCIRC/540; 19 (2) has concluded a civilian nuclear cooperation 20 agreement with the United States under section 123 21 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2153) 22 or another supplier that prohibits the enrichment of 23 uranium or separation of plutonium on its own terri- 24 tory; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Apr 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1146.IS S1146 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1146 IS (3) has rescinded its Small Quantities Protocol 1 and is not found by the IAEA Board of Governors 2 to be in noncompliance with its Comprehensive Safe- 3 guards Agreement. 4 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 5 shall be construed as superseding the obligation of the 6 President under section 502B(a)(2) or section 620I(a) of 7 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 8 2304(a)(2), 22 U.S.C. 2378–1(a)), respectively, to not 9 furnish security assistance to Saudi Arabia or any country 10 if it— 11 (1) engages in a consistent pattern of gross vio- 12 lations of internationally recognized human rights; 13 or 14 (2) prohibits or otherwise restricts, directly or 15 indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States 16 humanitarian assistance. 17 SEC. 5. MIDDLE EAST NONPROLIFERATION STRATEGY. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Starting with the first report 19 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 20 of State and the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with 21 the Director of National Intelligence, shall provide the ap- 22 propriate committees of Congress, as an appendix to the 23 Report on the Adherence to and Compliance with Arms 24 Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Apr 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1146.IS S1146 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1146 IS and Commitments, a report on MTCR compliance and a 1 United States strategy to prevent the spread of nuclear 2 weapons and missiles in the Middle East. 3 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required under sub- 4 section (a) shall include the following elements: 5 (1) An assessment of China’s compliance, in the 6 previous fiscal year, with its November 2000 com- 7 mitment to abide by the MTCR and United States 8 diplomatic efforts to address non-compliance. 9 (2) A description of every foreign person that, 10 in the previous fiscal year, engaged in the export, 11 transfer, or trade of MTCR items to a country that 12 is a non-MTCR adherent, and a description of the 13 sanctions the President imposed pursuant to section 14 11B(b) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 15 (50 U.S.C. 4612(b)). 16 (3) A detailed strategy to prevent the prolifera- 17 tion of ballistic missile and sensitive nuclear tech- 18 nology in the Middle East and North Africa from 19 China and other foreign countries, including the fol- 20 lowing elements: 21 (A) An assessment of the proliferation 22 risks associated with concluding or renewing a 23 civilian nuclear cooperation ‘‘123’’ agreement 24 with any country in the Middle-East and North 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Apr 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1146.IS S1146 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1146 IS Africa and the risks of such if that same equip- 1 ment and technology is sourced from a foreign 2 state. 3 (B) An update on United States bilateral 4 and multilateral diplomatic actions to com- 5 mence negotiations on a Weapons of Mass De- 6 struction Free Zone (WMDFZ) since the 2015 7 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Con- 8 ference. 9 (C) A description of United States Govern- 10 ment efforts to achieve global adherence and 11 compliance with the Nuclear Suppliers Group, 12 MTCR, and the 2002 International Code of 13 Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation 14 guidelines. 15 (4) An account of the briefings to the appro- 16 priate committees of Congress in the reporting pe- 17 riod detailing negotiations on any new or renewed ci- 18 vilian nuclear cooperation ‘‘123’’ agreement with any 19 country consistent with the intent of the Atomic En- 20 ergy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.). 21 (c) FORM OF REPORT.—The report required under 22 subsection (a) shall be unclassified with a classified annex. 23 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 24 In this Act: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Apr 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1146.IS S1146 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1146 IS (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON- 1 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 2 gress’’ means— 3 (A) the Select Committee on Intelligence of 4 the Senate; 5 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 6 the Senate; 7 (C) the Select Committee on Intelligence of 8 the House of Representative; and 9 (D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 10 the House of Representatives. 11 (2) FOREIGN PERSON; PERSON.—The terms 12 ‘‘foreign person’’ and ‘‘ ‘person’ ’’ mean— 13 (A) a natural person that is an alien; 14 (B) a corporation, business association, 15 partnership, society, trust, or any other non- 16 governmental entity, organization, or group, 17 that is organized under the laws of a foreign 18 country or has its principal place of business in 19 a foreign country; 20 (C) any foreign governmental entity oper- 21 ating as a business enterprise; and 22 (D) any successor, subunit, or subsidiary 23 of any entity described in subparagraph (B) or 24 (C). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Apr 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1146.IS S1146 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1146 IS (3) MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA.—The 1 t [Text truncated for display. 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