123 GO Act Puts State Dept. in Charge of Nuclear Diplomacy, Demands 20 New Deals by 2029

The aptly named 123 GO Act is essentially a major push to put the U.S. nuclear industry back into the global fast lane. This bill centralizes control of international nuclear cooperation agreements—known as “123 agreements” after the section of the Atomic Energy Act they fall under—and sets aggressive, quantitative goals for the State Department to hit.

The State Department Takes the Wheel

Under this Act, the Secretary of State is now explicitly in charge of leading all diplomatic talks and negotiations for 123 agreements (SEC. 3). For busy people, this means one agency is now the point person for these complex deals, which cover everything from exporting nuclear technology to managing fuel supplies. The goal is to streamline the process, but it also concentrates a lot of power in one office, potentially sidelining the technical expertise usually provided by the Department of Energy or other regulatory bodies in the early stages.

Crucially, the bill sets a hard target: the Secretary must aim to sign at least 20 brand-new 123 agreements before January 3, 2029 (SEC. 3). That’s a tight timeline for securing sensitive, long-term international agreements. While securing these deals is great for U.S. companies looking for global contracts, setting such an aggressive number could create pressure to push deals through quickly. If you’re concerned about nuclear safety or non-proliferation, you want these agreements to be thoroughly vetted, not rushed to meet a deadline.

Cutting Red Tape to Boost Exports

Beyond just negotiating, the Act establishes a new interagency program focused entirely on enhancing global competitiveness for U.S. nuclear companies (SEC. 4). Think of this as the government becoming an official sales team for American nuclear tech, fuel, and services. The program, also led by the Secretary of State but involving the Commerce and Energy Secretaries, has four main mandates.

One of the most significant mandates is the directive to identify federal laws and regulations that are making it hard for U.S. companies to export their nuclear goods—and then recommend specific actions to get rid of them (SEC. 4). This is where the rubber meets the road for regulatory reform. While cutting unnecessary bureaucracy is often welcomed by industry (and could mean more jobs in the U.S. nuclear supply chain), this broad mandate to ‘get rid of’ existing rules raises a red flag. We need to watch closely to see if the rules targeted are genuinely outdated hurdles, or if they are essential safety and environmental safeguards that could be weakened in the name of speed and profit.

Finally, the program is tasked with actively persuading foreign countries to choose U.S. technology over that offered by competitors (SEC. 4). This means that if a country like Poland or Romania is looking to build a new reactor, the U.S. government will be aggressively promoting American suppliers, potentially leading to more stability and contracts for U.S. workers involved in manufacturing, engineering, and construction here at home.