Converting Research Reactor

Agreements With Mexico on Converting Research Reactor From Heu to Leu in 2011

United States views on international law (based on the document “Digest of U.S. Practice in International Law”): On April 13, 2010, President Obama convened heads of state for a summit on nuclear security in Washington, D.C. see this world legal encyclopedia in relation with the year 2010 at 800-802 for background. During this summit, Mexico, the United States, and Canada made a trilateral announcement to work together, with the IAEA, to convert the fuel in Mexico's research reactor from highly enriched uranium (“HEU”) to low enriched uranium (“LEU) to further strengthen nuclear security on the North American continent. This 2010 Trilateral Announcement is available at (internet link) whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/trilateral-announcement-between-mexico-united-states-and-canada-nuclear-security. During 2011, two executive agreements were concluded to enable the transfer of LEU by the United States, through the IAEA, to Mexico and the transfer of HEU from Mexico, through the IAEA, to the United States. These agreements were pursuant to, inter alia, the Agreement for Co-operation between the IAEA and the United States, signed May 11, 1959, as amended, and the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 U.S.C. § 2153). The first was a trilateral agreement among the IAEA, Mexico, and the United States. It was signed on July 13, 29, and August 1, 2011, and entered into force on August 1, 2011. It is available at (internet link) state.gov/ documents/organization/177181.pdf. The second agreement was effected by an exchange of diplomatic notes between the United States and Mexico on November 18, 2011.***

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See Also

• Use Of Force
• Arms Control
• Disarmament
• Nonproliferation
• Nuclear Nonproliferation
• Nuclear Security
• World Safety

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Notes and References

1. *** Editor's Note: On March 26, 2012, the United States, Canada, and Mexico announced at the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit the completion of this HEU-LEU transfer. See (internet link) whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/03/26/trilateral-announcement-between-mexico-united-states-and-canada-nuclear-.