CoCom
The Coordinating Committee on Multilateral Export Controls (German Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls, initially Coordinating Committee for East West Trade Policy, dt Coordinating Committee for East -West trade, mostly short CoCom ) was used during the Cold War in regulating the export of Western technology in the Eastern bloc countries.
Activities
The Committee based in Paris was founded on 22 November 1949 and accepted January 1, 1950 to work. It was initiated at the behest of the U.S. and should prevent the countries under Soviet influence ( COMECON ) and the People's Republic of China - first in the context of ChinCom - were given access to modern technology. This mainly affected weapons, nuclear energy technology, industrial equipment and microelectronics. Affected technologies and goods were summarized in the " CoCom list ". This older technology was released and taken up instead latest technology. Because of the Eastern Bloc states additional costs and increasing development of this residue embargo can be called successful.
The CoCom was not an intergovernmental organization, which was based on international treaties and could issue legally binding regulations, but, an informal advisory and coordinating body. The Member States were therefore not legally obliged to implement the recommendations, in fact they were still observed due to the political pressure of the United States.
The work was based on three main directions:
- Development of ban lists,
- Consultations on updates for the latest technologies,
- Meetings to evaluate the effectiveness of the trade restrictions.
The economic ministries of the member states could apply for waivers from economic reasons.
The main pressure medium were threats of sanctions: U.S. companies that violated the guidelines, could be excluded from public contracts. In particular, under U.S. President Ronald Reagan, the defense has been strengthened against eastern industrial espionage and illegal technology exports in the 1980s. The authorities in the Western export controls had to be delivered a plausible whereabouts proof. By paying a high surcharge boycott some Western companies and middlemen were still ready to deliver high technology to the Soviet bloc. For the remaining proof partly fictitious companies were founded in western countries or transported the technological applications to track blurring by half the world.
In the GDR the KoKo area and the HVA Stasi involved in the clandestine procurement of technical documents and embargo commodity, and therefore high-performance computers, systems for microelectronic manufacturing and military technology.
On joint resolution of the members of the committee was disbanded on 31 March 1994, the export control lists but still being maintained. In December 1995, the Wassenaar Arrangement, the successor joined the the eastern transition countries, including Russia belong.
Member States
The CoCom consisted of all NATO countries (except Iceland ) and Japan, in particular:
- Australia Australia
- Belgium
- Denmark Denmark
- Germany Germany
- France France
- Greece Greece
- Italy Italy
- Japan Japan
- Canada Canada
- Luxembourg Luxembourg
- Netherlands The Netherlands
- Norway Norway
- Portugal
- Spain
- Turkey Turkey
- United Kingdom United Kingdom
- United States United States
Other countries turned to CoCom regulations, without themselves being members:
- Finland Finland
- Austria Austria
- Sweden Sweden
- Switzerland Switzerland