Reading Room Document

The President's Power to Set the Terms and Conditions of Nuclear Exports He Authorizes

The document is a memorandum discussing the President's power to set the terms and conditions of nuclear exports, specifically in the case of an export to India. It presents three legal questions regarding the President's authority to modify the proposed export, delegate this power to the Secretary of State, and whether such modifications must be presented to Congress for review. Despite these arguments, the Office of the Counsel to the President advised that the President's claim of authority to set the terms and conditions of the export to India was defensible. The document also includes a memorandum for the Secretary of State authorizing them to perform certain functions on behalf of the President.

January 16, 1981