March 29, 2019

The Trump administration has given permission to a handful of U.S. companies to engage in early stage nuclear energy trade with Saudi Arabia, igniting a new battle with Congress over plans to sell American-made reactors to the kingdom.

The authorizations came to light over the last two days in Congressional hearings and news reports, which suggested the Trump administration is doing an end-run around Congress, facilitating secret discussions and putting the kingdom on track to develop nuclear weapons.

But veterans of nuclear export policy say the transactions are routine and do not raise immediate concerns about nuclear weapons proliferation. Although the content of the authorizations is not public, experts say they likely cover basic information exchanges and consultations with Saudi Arabia — not sensitive technology.

Read more:

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/29/trump-team-and-congress-spar-over-nuclear-energy-transfers-to-saudis.html