I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2506 

To counter Saudi Arabia’s possible pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 14, 2021 

Mr. CASTRO of Texas (for himself and Mr. LIEU) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To counter Saudi Arabia’s possible pursuit of weapons of 

mass destruction, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stopping Activities Un5 derpinning Development In Weapons of Mass Destruction 

6 Act’’ or the ‘‘SAUDI WMD Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress makes the following findings: 

9 (1) The People’s Republic of China (in this Act 

10 referred to as ‘‘China’’), became a full-participant of 


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1 the Nuclear Suppliers Group in 2004, committing it 

2 to apply a strong presumption of denial in exporting 

3 nuclear-related items that a foreign country could 

4 divert to a nuclear weapons program. 

5 (2) China also committed to the United States, 

6 in November 2000, to abide by the foundational 

7 principles of the 1987 Missile Technology Control 

8 Regime (MTCR) to not ‘‘assist, in any way, any 

9 country in the development of ballistic missiles that 

10 can be used to deliver nuclear weapons (i.e., missiles 

11 capable of delivering a payload of at least 500 kilo12 grams to a distance of at least 300 kilometers)’’. 

13 (3) In the 1980s, China secretly sold the King14 dom of Saudi Arabia (in this Act referred to as 

15 ‘‘Saudi Arabia’’) conventionally armed DF–3A bal16 listic missiles, and in 2007, reportedly sold Saudi 

17 Arabia dual-use capable DF–21 medium-range bal18 listic missiles of a 300 kilometer, 500-kilogram 

19 range and payload threshold which should have trig20 gered a denial of sale under the MTCR. 

21 (4) The 2020 Department of State Report on 

22 the Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Con23 trol, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agree24 ments and Commitments found that China ‘‘contin25 ued to supply MTCR-controlled goods to missile proVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2506.IH H2506

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1 grams of proliferation concern in 2019’’ and that 

2 the United States imposed sanctions on nine Chinese 

3 entities for covered missile transfers to Iran. 

4 (5) A June 5, 2019, press report indicated that 

5 China allegedly provided assistance to Saudi Arabia 

6 in the development of a ballistic missile facility, 

7 which if confirmed, would violate the purpose of the 

8 MTCR and run contrary to the longstanding United 

9 States policy priority to prevent weapons of mass de10 struction proliferation in the Middle East. 

11 (6) The Arms Export and Control Act of 1976 

12 (Public Law 93–329) requires the President to sanc13 tion any foreign person or government who know14 ingly ‘‘exports, transfers, or otherwise engages in the 

15 trade of any MTCR equipment or technology’’ to a 

16 country that does not adhere to the MTCR. 

17 (7) China concluded two nuclear cooperation 

18 agreements with Saudi Arabia in 2012 and 2017, re19 spectively, which may facilitate China’s bid to build 

20 two reactors in Saudi Arabia to generate 2.9 

21 Gigawatt-electric (GWe) of electricity. 

22 (8) On August 4, 2020, a press report revealed 

23 the alleged existence of a previously undisclosed ura24 nium yellowcake extraction facility in Saudi Arabia 

25 allegedly constructed with the assistance of China, 


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1 which if confirmed, would indicate significant 

2 progress by Saudi Arabia in developing the early 

3 stages of the nuclear fuel cycle that precede uranium 

4 enrichment. 

5 (9) Saudi Arabia’s outdated Small Quantities 

6 Protocol and its lack of an in force Additional Pro7 tocol to its International Atomic Energy Agency 

8 (IAEA) Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement se9 verely curtails IAEA inspections, which has led the 

10 Agency to call upon Saudi Arabia to either rescind 

11 or update its Small Quantities Protocol. 

12 (10) On January 19, 2021, in response to a 

13 question about Saudi Arabia’s reported ballistic mis14 sile cooperation with China, Secretary of State-to-be 

15 Antony J. Blinken stated that ‘‘we want to make 

16 sure that to the best of our ability all of our part17 ners and allies are living up to their obligations 

18 under various nonproliferation and arms control 

19 agreements and, certainly, in the case of Saudi Ara20 bia that is something we will want to look at.’’. 

21 (11) On March 15, 2018, the Crown Prince of 

22 Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin-Salman, stated that 

23 ‘‘if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we would follow 

24 suit as soon as possible,’’ raising questions about 

25 whether a Saudi Arabian nuclear program would reVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2506.IH H2506

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1 main exclusively peaceful, particularly in the absence 

2 of robust international IAEA safeguards. 

3 (12) An August 9, 2019, study by the United 

4 Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 

5 found that the Saudi Arabia-led military coalition 

6 airstrikes in Yemen and its restrictions on the flow 

7 of humanitarian assistance to the country, both of 

8 which have disproportionately impacted civilians, 

9 may be violations of international humanitarian law. 

10 SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF POSSIBLE MTCR TRANSFERS 

11 TO SAUDI ARABIA. 

12 (a) MTCR TRANSFERS.—Not later than 30 days 

13 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 

14 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 

15 a written determination, and any documentation to sup16 port that determination, detailing— 

17 (1) whether any foreign person knowingly ex18 ported, transferred, or engaged in trade of any item 

19 designated under Category I of the MTCR Annex 

20 item with Saudi Arabia in the previous three fiscal 

21 years; and 

22 (2) the sanctions the President has imposed or 

23 intends to impose pursuant to section 11B(b) of the 

24 Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. 

25 4612(b)) against any foreign person who knowingly 


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1 engaged in the export, transfer, or trade of that item 

2 or items. 

3 (b) WAIVER.—Notwithstanding any provision of 

4 paragraphs (3) through (7) of section 11(B)(b) of the Ex5 port Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. 4612(b)), the 

6 President may only waive the application of sanctions 

7 under such section with respect to Saudi Arabia if that 

8 country is verifiably determined to no longer possess an 

9 item designated under Category I of the MTCR Annex re10 ceived in the previous three fiscal years. 

11 (c) FORM OF REPORT.—The determination required 

12 under subsection (a) shall be unclassified with a classified 

13 annex. 

14 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON UNITED STATES ARMS SALES TO 

15 SAUDI ARABIA IF IT IMPORTS NUCLEAR 

16 TECHNOLOGY WITHOUT SAFEGUARDS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The United States may not sell, 

18 transfer, or authorize licenses for export of any item des19 ignated under Category III, IV, VII, or VIII on the United 

20 States Munitions List pursuant to section 38(a)(1) of the 

21 Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778(a)(1)) to Saudi 

22 Arabia, other than ground-based missile defense systems, 

23 if Saudi Arabia has, in the previous three fiscal years— 

24 (1) knowingly imported any item classified as 

25 ‘‘plants for the separation of isotopes of uranium’’ 


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1 or ‘‘plants for the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear 

2 reactor fuel elements’’ under Part 110 of the Nu3 clear Regulatory Commission export licensing au4 thority; or 

5 (2) engaged in nuclear cooperation related to 

6 the construction of any nuclear-related fuel cycle fa7 cility or activity that has not been notified to the 

8 IAEA and would be subject to complementary access 

9 if an Additional Protocol were in force. 

10 (b) WAIVER.—The Secretary of State may waive the 

11 prohibition under subsection (a) with respect to Saudi 

12 Arabia if the Secretary submits to the appropriate com13 mittees of Congress a written certification that contains 

14 a determination, and any relevant documentation on which 

15 the determination is based, that Saudi Arabia— 

16 (1) has brought into force an Additional Pro17 tocol to the IAEA Comprehensive Safeguards Agree18 ment based on the model described in IAEA 

19 INFCIRC/540; 

20 (2) has concluded a civilian nuclear cooperation 

21 agreement with the United States under section 123 

22 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2153) 

23 or another supplier that prohibits the enrichment of 

24 uranium or separation of plutonium on its own terri25 tory; and 


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1 (3) has rescinded its Small Quantities Protocol 

2 and is not found by the IAEA Board of Governors 

3 to be in noncompliance with its Comprehensive Safe4 guards Agreement. 

5 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

6 may be construed as superseding the obligation of the 

7 President under section 502B(a)(2) or section 620I(a) of 

8 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(a)(2) 

9 and 2378–1(a)) to not furnish security assistance to Saudi 

10 Arabia or any country if Saudi Arabia or such country— 

11 (1) engages in a consistent pattern of gross vio12 lations of internationally recognized human rights; 

13 or 

14 (2) prohibits or otherwise restricts, directly or 

15 indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States 

16 humanitarian assistance. 

17 SEC. 5. MIDDLE EAST NONPROLIFERATION STRATEGY. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to the first Report 

19 on the Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, 

20 Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and 

21 Commitments that is required to be submitted after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 

23 and the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Di24 rector of National Intelligence, shall provide the appro25 priate committees of Congress, as an appendix to such ReVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2506.IH H2506

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1 port, a report on MTCR compliance and a strategy for 

2 the United States to prevent the spread of nuclear weap3 ons and missiles in the Middle East. 

4 (b) ELEMENTS.—Each appendix required under sub5 section (a) shall include the following elements: 

6 (1) An assessment of China’s compliance, in the 

7 previous fiscal year, with its November 2000 com8 mitment to abide by the MTCR and United States 

9 diplomatic efforts to address non-compliance. 

10 (2) A description of every foreign person that, 

11 in the previous fiscal year, engaged in the export, 

12 transfer, or trade of MTCR items to a country that 

13 is a non-MTCR adherent, and a description of the 

14 sanctions the President imposed pursuant to section 

15 11B(b) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 

16 (50 U.S.C. 4612(b)). 

17 (3) A detailed strategy to prevent the prolifera18 tion of ballistic missile and sensitive nuclear tech19 nology in the Middle East and North Africa from 

20 China and other foreign countries, including the fol21 lowing elements: 

22 (A) An assessment of the proliferation 

23 risks associated with concluding or renewing a 

24 civilian nuclear cooperation ‘‘123’’ agreement 

25 with any country in the Middle-East and North 


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1 Africa and the risks of such if that same equip2 ment and technology is sourced from a foreign 

3 country. 

4 (B) An update on United States bilateral 

5 and multilateral diplomatic actions to com6 mence negotiations on a Weapons of Mass De7 struction Free Zone (WMDFZ) since the 2015 

8 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Con9 ference. 

10 (C) A description of United States Govern11 ment efforts to achieve global adherence and 

12 compliance with the Nuclear Suppliers Group, 

13 the MTCR, and the 2002 International Code of 

14 Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation 

15 guidelines. 

16 (4) An account of the briefings to the appro17 priate committees of Congress in the reporting pe18 riod detailing negotiations on any new or renewed ci19 vilian nuclear cooperation ‘‘123’’ agreement with any 

20 country consistent with the intent of the Atomic En21 ergy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.). 

22 (c) FORM OF REPORT.—Each appendix required 

23 under subsection (a) shall be unclassified with a classified 

24 annex. 


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1 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON4 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con5 gress’’ means— 

6 (A) the Select Committee on Intelligence of 

7 the Senate; 

8 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

9 the Senate; 

10 (C) the Select Committee on Intelligence of 

11 the House of Representative; and 

12 (D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

13 the House of Representatives. 

14 (2) FOREIGN PERSON; PERSON.—The terms 

15 ‘‘foreign person’’ and ‘‘person’’ mean— 

16 (A) a natural person who is an alien; 

17 (B) a corporation, business association, 

18 partnership, society, trust, or any other non19 governmental entity, organization, or group, 

20 that is organized under the laws of a foreign 

21 country or has its principal place of business in 

22 a foreign country; 

23 (C) any foreign governmental entity oper24 ating as a business enterprise; and 


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1 (D) any successor, subunit, or subsidiary 

2 of any entity described in subparagraph (B) or 

3 (C). 

4 (3) MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA.—The 

5 term ‘‘Middle East and North Africa’’ means those 

6 countries that are included in the Area of Responsi7 bility of the Assistant Secretary of State for Near 

8 Eastern Affairs. 

Æ 


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