ing, said the Department, because their interests were outside the "zone of interests" protected by section 57(c) of the Atomic Energy Act, relating to the common defense and security, a requirement aimed at protecting the interests of the people of the United States. As to other, more general, foreign policy concerns, such as the relevance of the U.S. arms embargo against South Africa and U.S. international obligations with respect to Namibia, the Department said that these clearly fall "within the special constitutional competence of the Executive."

Dept. of State File No. P77 0028–121. The NRC had not rendered an opinion in the matter by the close of 1976.

U.S. Nuclear Policy

On October 28, 1976, President Ford issued a statement on nuclear policy, calling upon all nations to join in a cooperative effort to preserve the benefits of peaceful uses of nuclear energy while preventing nuclear proliferation. He announced the following policy decisions:

1. Reprocessing and recycling of plutonium should not proceed unless there is sound reason to conclude that the world community can overcome effectively the associated risks of proliferation.

2. Avoidance of proliferation must take precedence over economic interests.

3. The United States and other nations should increase their use of nuclear power for peaceful purposes even if reprocessing and recycling of plutonium are not found acceptable.

4. Specific decisions to implement the overall policy positions: -Change domestic policies to conform with the decision to defer commercialization of chemical reprocessing.

-Call upon all nations to avoid transferring or making commitments to transfer reprocessing and uranium enrichment technology and facilities for at least three years.

-Call upon supplier nations to take new cooperative steps to help assure an adequate and reliable supply of fuel for customer nations that forego reprocessing and uranium enrichment capability to accept strengthened and effective proliferation controls.

-Maintain the U.S. role as a major and reliable supplier of nuclear reactors and fuel services (e.g., uranium enrichment) for peaceful purposes.

-Take new steps to urge all nations to join in a full-scale international cooperative effort to develop effective proliferation controls.

-Take new steps with respect to U.S. exports, to control proliferation while seeking to to strengthen multilateral guidelines.

-Sponsor a program to evaluate reprocessing in support of the new international policies.

-Take new steps to assure that long term nuclear waste storage or disposal facilities are in place when needed both in the U.S. and around the world.

The President also announced the following specific actions and proposals:

1. He directed the Administrator of the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) to encourage prompt action to expand spent fuel storage facilities and to identify research and development efforts on recovering the energy value from used nuclear fuel without separating plutonium.

2. To avoid proliferation risk, he asked all nations to join with the United States in exercising maximum restraints in the transfer of reprocessing and enrichment technology and facilities by avoiding such sensitive exports or commitments for at least three years.

3. To assure an adequate energy supply, he urged that nuclear suppliers provide fuel services instead of sensitive technology and facilities; he directed the Secretary of State to explore with other nations arrangements for coordinating fuel services and to enter into negotiations on the disposition of spent fuel with consumer nations that adopt responsible nonproliferation controls; and he announced continued U.S. cooperation with other countries to develop indigenous nonnuclear energy resources.

4. To strengthen the U.S. role as a reliable supplier, he promised to submit to Congress proposed legislation permitting expansion of capacity in the United States to produce enriched uranium, and to seek improved export controls.

5. To achieve effective international controls against proliferation, he directed the Secretary of State to pursue discussions to establish a new international regime to provide storage for excess civil plutonium and spent reactor fuel and, with the Administrator of ERDA, to work with other nations to upgrade the International Atomic Energy Agency's safeguards functions and capabilities.

6. In the control of U.S. nuclear exports, he directed that the United States apply the new criteria in judging whether to enter into new or expanded agreements for peaceful nuclear cooperation; that the Secretary of State enter into negotiations to conform existing international agreements with established international guidelines and the new criteria; to intensify discussions with nuclear suppliers aimed at expanding the common international guidelines to conform with the new criteria; and to work with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to further emphasize nonproliferation controls in the nuclear export licensing process.

7. To mount a reprocessing evaluation program, he directed the Administrator of ERDA to define a reprocessing and recycle program, and the Secretary of State to invite other nations to participate in designing and carrying out such a program.

8. To assure that nuclear waste management facilities are

available in the mid-1980's, he directed the ERDA Administrator to speed up development of such a program and submit plans for a repository for commercial high-level nuclear wastes by 1985. He directed also that the Secretary of State discuss with other nations the possibility of centrally located multinationally controlled nuclear waste repositories.

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Vol. 12, No. 44, Nov. 1, 1976, pp. 1624-1631; Dept. of State Bulletin, Vol. LXXV, No. 1952, Nov. 22, 1976, pp. 629–639.

OECD Nuclear Energy Agency

The Permanent Representative of the United States to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) informed the Secretary-General, in a letter dated September 15, 1976, that the U.S. Government had decided to participate in the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) as a full member from October 1, 1976. The United States had previously been an associate member. The letter excluded from U.S. participation the neutron data compilation center and the computer program library.

The OECD Council, on October 12, 1976, adopted a decision relating to the participation of the U.S. Government in the NEA effective October 1, and making consequential changes in the Statute of the NEA. The Chairman of the Steering Committee for Nuclear Energy, at a meeting of the Committee on October 14, 1976, welcomed the U.S. decision to become a full member. The U.S. Delegate, Myron B. Kratzer, stated that the shifting of the Agency's program toward activities in the safety and regulatory field was of direct interest to his country, and a thorough involvement of U.S. technical experts was to be expected.

The NEA was established by a decision of the Council of the European Economic Community, 1957 (C(57)255), approved by the OECD Council, 1961 (OECD/C(61)5), and subsequently amended, which is generally referred to as the NEA Statute. For the Oct. 12 decision of the OECD Council concerning U.S. membership, see OECD/C(76)172 (Final). For the Steering Committee report, see NE/M(76)2, Nov. 24,

1976.

8 9

Communications and Transportation

Telecommunications

The United States became a party to the 1973 International Telecommunication Convention (Malaga-Torremolinos) with annexes and protocols on April 7, 1976, subject to a declaration of nonacceptance of "any obligations in respect of the Telephone

Regulations or the Additional Radio Regulations referred to in article 42 of the International Telecommunication Convention . . . and in article 82 of the General Regulations thereof."

On April 21, 1976, the 1973 Telegraph Regulations and Telephone Regulations, as well as the 1974 Partial Revision of the Radio Regulations, entered into force for the United States, subject to a declaration in each case.

The major purpose of the agreements is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of earlier arrangements and understandings, taking into consideration technical improvements which have occurred recently as well as further developments in the field of international organization.

For the text and additional information concerning the International Telecommunication Convention, see S. Ex. J, 93d Cong., 2d Sess.; the Telegraph and Telephone Regulations, see S. Ex. E, 93d Cong., 2d Sess.; and the Partial Revision of the Radio Regulations, see S. Ex. G, 94th Cong., 1st Sess. With reference to all of the above instruments, see S. Ex. Rept. 94-22, 94th Cong., 1st Sess.

Communications

Satellite Communications

The United States participated in the 47-nation International Conference on the Establishment of an International Maritime Satellite System convened by the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO), which held its second and third sessions in 1976. The first session, held in London April 23-May 9, 1975, had agreed on the need for a worldwide maritime satellite system to satisfy distress, safety, and public correspondence requirements, and on the need for an intergovernmental organization to administer and manage the system. At subsequent sessions in London (February 9-27, 1976, and September 1-3, 1976), the conference agreed on institutional arrangements, embodied in an intergovernmental agreement, called the Convention on the International Maritime Satellite Organization (INMARSAT), and an Operating Agreement, to be signed by signatories, which might be either Governments or their designated entities.

The designated entities will assume financial, technical, and operational responsibilities within INMARSAT. Managerial responsibility will be vested in the Council, a strong governing body in which policymaking responsibilities are given to investors in direct proportion to their utilization of the INMARSAT system. The thrust of the procurement policy under the arrangements is to ensure that price, quality, and the most favorable delivery time are the principal

criteria for the award of contracts.

The organs of INMARSAT will consist of:

(i) The Assembly, consisting of all parties;

(ii) The Council, consisting of 18 representatives of signatories having the largest investment shares in INMARSAT and four representatives, elected by the Assembly irrespective of their investment shares, so as to ensure the principle of just geographical representation bearing in mind the interests of developing countries; (iii) The Directorate headed by a Director General.

In the Council each representative has a voting participation equivalent to the investment share or shares he represents, but no representative may cast on behalf of one signatory more than 25 percent of the total voting participation in the Organization. If a signatory elects to divest itself of investment in excess of 25 percent, other signatories will be invited to subscribe to the excess. To the extent the excess is not voluntarily subscribed, the signatory possessing such excess would retain it and vote it, thereby voting a share greater than 25 percent. Should the affected signatory elect not to divest itself of its investment in excess of 25 percent, its vote corresponding to such excess would be distributed equally to all other representatives on the Council. Under the annex to the Operating Agreement, the United States is assigned an initial investment share of 17 percent. The next largest share, 12 percent, is assigned to the United Kingdom, and the third largest, 11 percent, to the Soviet Union.

An annex to the Convention establishes procedures for the settlement of disputes.

States may become parties to the Convention by signature alone, by signature subject to ratification, acceptance, or approval, followed by such action, or by accession. No reservations may be made to the Convention or Operating Agreement. When the two documents were opened for signature on September 3, 1976, eight governments signed the Convention subject to ratification, and four signed subject to acceptance. Four Governments or designated entities signed the Operating Agreement. By the close of 1976 the United States had not signed either instrument or designated an entity to sign the Operating Agreement.

For the text of the Convention on the International Maritime Satellite Organization (INMARSAT) and annex on settlement of disputes, see IMCO Doc. MARSAT/CONF/38, Oct. 27, 1976. For the Operating Agreement and annex on investment shares, see IMCO Doc. MARSAT/CONF/39, Oct. 27, 1976. For a statement by the Secretary General of IMCO concerning correction of any errors in the text, see ante, Ch. 5, § 1, p. 217. For the dispute settlement procedure under the Convention and Operating Agreement, see post, Ch. 13, § 2, p. 647-649.