U.S. and Russia Joint Cooperation in Export Controls

National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has worked jointly with Russia since 1996 to enhance nonproliferation cooperation in systems related to improving export controls, particularly in the nuclear and missile fields. This paper will highlight the achievements of this joint cooperation through the Office of Nuclear Controls under the auspices of International Nonproliferation Export Control Program. The joint cooperation includes developing training curriculum and reference tools in Russia at various nuclear and missile manufacturing facilities on techniques to effectively implement compliance programs in export controls. It also includes the preparation of guidance documents on components for nuclear and missile systems to ensure adequate identification of controlled commodities in support of compliance programs. These joint U.S./Russian activities were funded and developed in concert with international objectives established by the United States Department of Energy and the Department of State for reducing the proliferation risk of export of controlled commodities and technology that could be used for the development and production of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems. The training and reference tools were produced through contracts with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory with Rosatom, the State owned nuclear corporation, and Roscosmos, the State owned missile and space agency analogous to NASA in the U.S. Specific enhancements in export controls include training events at many of the nuclear and missile manufacturing facilities in Russia. Training curriculum emphasizes the importance of nonproliferation objectives, international treaty agreements, and Russian national export control regulations for WMD-related controlled commodities and technology for nuclear and missile programs. This cooperation also stimulated the development of reference materials and computer-based searchable database systems to simplify the process of identifying and properly classifying controlled commodities and technologies. These tools and training programs have significantly improved the level of understanding of scientists and engineers on the topic of export controls at major manufacturing facilities in Russia. This paper will describe these activities and identify proven approaches for implementing systems to enhancing compliance with export controls while still achieving programmatic goals in nuclear and space programs.