Trump’s Saudi Deal Spurs Watchdog Interest in Nuclear Settlement
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump’s plans for a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia are bringing tensions between US and South Korean reactor developers to the fore, surfacing details of a clash over market access that has garnered interest from regulators.
Westinghouse Electric Co., Korea Electric Power Corp. and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. signed an agreement in January 2025, ending a dispute over whether South Korean reactor exports relied on Westinghouse-controlled technology.
The settlement gave KEPCO and KHNP rights to use Westinghouse technology for South Korean reactor designs in territories spanning four continents and including Saudi Arabia, according to a copy of the settlement seen by Bloomberg. It reserved North America, Japan, Ukraine and most of Europe for Westinghouse, while restricting KEPCO and KHNP from commercial discussions with customers outside permitted territories without the US firm’s approval.
Details of the Trump deal, which could allow American companies to build reactors in the kingdom, emerged in February and led the South Koreans to complain to Westinghouse whether the terms of their agreement was breached.
That exchange and details of the settlement have now been obtained by EU regulators who are scrutinizing whether it goes beyond resolving an intellectual property fight.
Market sharing agreements between competitors have long drawn the attention of watchdogs and the European Commission’s enforcers are seeking more details about the IP settlement between the three firms. Some of those details emerged in correspondence seen by Bloomberg between KEPCO and Westinghouse, even before the US and Saudi Arabia announced a long-sought nuclear technology-sharing deal on Wednesday.
Trump’s Saudi deal doesn’t name Westinghouse, but it could benefit US nuclear companies. While the additional deal conditions announced on Thursday by the US president threaten to derail the agreement, it could eventually help American firms gain a foothold in a region where rivals have been active, especially Russia. Saudi Arabia, in particular, has the potential to become a huge market.
But whereas Trump’s Saudi agreement created business potential for Westinghouse, KEPCO saw a clear violation of the settlement agreement that delineates the kingdom as a territory for the South Korean firms.
Key Project
KEPCO said it had already spent considerable resources pursuing the Saudi deal, calling it one of the company’s “key projects for more than 15 years,” according to a March 16 letter sent to Westinghouse. The South Korean firm said it would require access to a market of “comparable value,” such as the US, to avoid breaching the settlement.
The documents reviewed by Bloomberg don’t include a Feb. 11 letter to KEPCO from Westinghouse, and therefore don’t establish the US firm’s full position. Westinghouse is now owned by Canada’s Cameco Corp. and Brookfield, but is still subject to US export controls.
A spokesperson for KEPCO said the company was unable to comment on the confidential settlement agreement with Westinghouse. KHNP didn’t respond to a request for comment.
A Westinghouse representative declined to comment on the settlement. Chief Executive Officer Dan Sumner welcomed Trump’s Saudi deal.
“The US government’s announcement to launch a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia is a landmark step that strengthens energy security, expands opportunities for US industry and workers, and drives significant long-term economic growth and investment benefits for both countries,” Sumner said in response to a request for comment from Bloomberg News.
Great Access
When asked whether the Trump administration communicated with Westinghouse about entering the Saudi market, the White House referred to the Department of Energy. In a statement on Wednesday, US Energy Secretary Christopher Wright said the deal between Washington and Riyadh will provide “great access for American companies” while “benefiting American industry, workers, and supply chains.”
To be sure, the future of the administration’s proposed deal is far from certain. Congress still needs to review its terms, which potentially could include the manufacture of nuclear fuel. On Thursday, Trump said the agreement wouldn’t permit Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium and was contingent upon the kingdom normalizing relations with Israel.
KEPCO’s letter warns that Westinghouse’s interpretation could cause the settlement to be characterized not as a legitimate technology-transfer arrangement but as market allocation, exposing both parties to regulatory and legal risk under EU competition law.
A separate internal email from the European Commission’s competition regulators — dated July this year and seen by Bloomberg News — shows officials looking to obtain internal Westinghouse, KHNP and KEPCO documents containing information about why the settlement was reached, especially those discussing whether US technology is present in Korean reactor designs.
The European Commission declined to comment.
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