The renegotiation of nuclear cooperation agreements or negotiation of new agreements could provide U.S. officials opportunities to strengthen and standardize requirements for accounting for and reporting on foreign-obligated nuclear materials. The requirements for these materials vary widely from one nuclear cooperation agreement to another. Most agreements do not require facility-level reporting and reconciliation; and the U.S. material accounting system that manages the database of U.S.-obligated materials overseas and foreign-obligated materials within the United States (the Nuclear Materials Management & Safeguard System [NMMSS]) does not currently provide the frequency and detail of information necessary to support current nuclear security and nonproliferation demands. U.S. nuclear cooperation agreements are also saddled with the dual and sometimes-competing mandates of promoting U.S. economic and security interests. To improve its accounting and reporting on foreign-obligated materials, the United States should consider adopting standard language that requires foreign partners to conduct detailed nuclear material accounting and to report information, such as the quantity, status, and location of U.S.- obligated materials, back to U.S. authorities on a regular basis. Regular material reconciliations should also be required. Regular facility-level reporting could also be required for most if not all states. In support of this change, NMMSS capabilities could also be augmented.
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