Part 810 export control regulations, which deal with the transfer of unclassified nuclear technical information and assistance, are handled by the Department of Energy. Recent Part 810 authorizations for Saudi Arabia were conducted in accordance with law, despite claims by the media that the White House was illegally circumventing export control rules in permitting nuclear transfers to Saudi Arabia. Moreover, although there were public allegations that such transfers were permitted in “secret,” Part 810 allows for applicants to withhold aspects of their applications from the public record, particularly when it involves proprietary information that could affect their competitiveness in bids. In response to perceptions that the administration was not fully transparent in such issues, Congress has introduced a bill to force the Department of Energy to regularly report on all Part 810 matters, and there is some concern that this may institute redundant reporting and hurt the overall competitiveness of U.S. civil nuclear exporters.
