In an excellent new piece, now also published on Beyond Nuclear International, Henry Sokolski and Victor Gilinsky, of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, show how Saudi Arabia's decision to suspend all new business with Canada could inadvertently aid the non-proliferation cause. That's because Westinghouse, which was to sell 12-14 reactors to the Saudis, is now owned by a Canadian company. US president, Donald Trump, had hoped the nuclear deal, forged with the Saudi Crown Prince, would keep the Westinghouse name -- and coffers -- alive. Now, because of one tweet by a Canadian minister in favor of women's human rights, that deal could mercifully be off.
"In the latest you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up event, Saudi Arabia’s furious campaign of economic retaliation against Canada — in response to Canadian foreign minister Chrystia Freeland’s criticismof the arrest of Saudi women’s rights activists — threatens to dash Westinghouse’s hopes for a lucrative nuclear deal with the Saudis. And, ironically, it may help to preserve tough rules on nuclear exports (“gold standard”) that the Saudi deal might otherwise scuttle.
On Aug. 7, the Saudis recalled their ambassador and expelled Canada’s ambassador, canceled flights to and from Canada, ordered Saudi students and even Saudis in Canadian hospitals to leave Canada, ordered the immediate sale of Saudi-owned Canadian assets “no matter the cost,” and — what is most important for our story — suspended all new business with Canada." Read the full article.