INTRODUCTION: PURPOSE OF THIS ASSESSMENT -

Commercial nuclear companies that export goods and services from the United States have long pointed to the U.S. nuclear export control system as a major competitive disadvantage as they compete with their counterparts in nuclear supplier nations such as the Russian Federation, Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and France.

Their concerns are based on a belief that the U.S. nuclear export control regime is:

(1) more complex and difficult for U.S. companies to navigate, impeding their ability to secure required licenses and authorizations for exports of nuclear services and commodities;

(2) significantly less efficient in processing export licenses than its counterparts in other nations, and

(3) more restrictive in its controls than the regimes of other nuclear supplier nations, causing potential customers to refrain from doing business with U.S. nuclear vendors and service providers and/or hindering the ability of the U.S. companies to execute and perform contracts with foreign customers.