Brian Bradley
NS&D Monitor
10/24/2014
The British government is set to renew the UK-U.S. Mutual Defence Agreement (MDA), which would authorize the bilateral exchange of nuclear materials, technology and information for another 10 years if approved by both countries, according to an Oct. 20 document submitted from UK’s International Affairs and Defence Section to the UK Parliament. On Oct. 16, the UK government published several proposed amendments, the most significant of which was a renewal provision. If neither house of Parliament passes a resolution opposing ratification within 21 sitting days from that date, the government can ratify the treaty; however, only the House of Commons has the ability to indefinitely block passage.
While President Barack Obama on July 24 wrote a letter to Congress urging lawmakers to extend the treaty and on the same day submitted related legislation to the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committees, neither committee has undertaken action. The UK and U.S. must both approve the agreement by year’s end to avoid expiration, the UK government document states. “The United Kingdom intends to continue to maintain viable nuclear forces into the foreseeable future,” Obama wrote in the letter. “Based on our previous close cooperation, and the fact that the United Kingdom continues to commit its nuclear forces to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, I have concluded it is in the United States national interest to continue to assist the United Kingdom in maintaining a credible nuclear deterrent.”
U.S. Review Process Outlined
Referred to in the United States as the Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for Cooperation on the Uses of Atomic Energy for Mutual Defense Purposes, the amendment must undergo a congressional review process spanning 60 session days, according to a spokesperson in the Bureau of Arms Control Verification and Compliance. “Upon completion of these review periods, and upon written confirmation from both Parties that all statutory and legal requirements have been met, the amendment will enter into force,” the spokesperson stated in an Oct. 22 email to NS&D Monitor.
The 1958 treaty’s original text acknowledged the nuclear advances of both the U.S. and UK, and the agreement was drafted to pave a pathway for exchanges of atomic weapons and related information. In addition to extending the treaty for another 10 years, new MDA amendments insert a modern vocabulary to reflect developments such as changes in uranium pricing methods and the fact that the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission no longer exists. The updates also incorporate language expressing a shared concern for the spread of nuclear weapon technology to state and non-state actors, and language calling for the evaluation of potential enemies to be included in “nuclear threat reduction activities” between the U.S. and UK.
