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The Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (CoCom) was established in 1949 [1] at the beginning of the Cold War to coordinate controls on exports from Western Bloc countries to the Soviet Union to the Soviet Union and its allies. CoCom ceased to function on March 31, 1994, and the then-current control list of embargoed goods was retained by the member nations until the Wassenaar Arrangement was established in 1996.
In its final years, CoCom had 17 member states:
Despite being neutral, Switzerland joined the CoCom sanctions against the Eastern bloc countries; see Hotz-Linder-Agreement . [2]
In the United States, CoCom compliance was implemented by various statutes authorizing the President to regulate exports, including the Export Control Act of 1949, the Export Administration Act of 1969, the Export Administration Act of 1979 the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), the Trading with the Enemy Act, and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, among others. Many of these statutes encouraged the coordination of controls with allies. [3] However, throughout the Cold War, the United States maintained controls in excess of those agreed to in CoCom. [4]
The Department of State and the Department of Commerce administered these coordinated controls via the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).
Toshiba Machine Company of Japan and Kongsberg Group of Norway supplied eight CNC propeller milling machines to the Soviet Union between 1982 and 1984, an action that violated the CoCom regulations. The United States' position is that this greatly improved the ability of Soviet submarines to evade detection. Congress moved to sanction Toshiba and ban imports of its products into the United States. [5]
In a related case, French machine maker Forest Line exported several machines for fabricating fuselages for fighter planes and turbine blades for high-performance jet engines. This information came to light during an investigation by the Norwegian police into the Toshiba-Kongsberg scandal. [6]
In GPS technology, the term "CoCom Limits" also refers to a limit placed on GPS receivers that limits functionality when the device calculates that it is moving faster than 1,000 knots (510 m/s) and/or at an altitude higher than 18,000 m (59,000 ft). [7] This was intended to prevent the use of GPS in intercontinental ballistic missile-like applications.
Some manufacturers apply this limit only when both speed and altitude limits are reached, while other manufacturers disable tracking when either limit is reached. In the latter case, this causes some devices to refuse to operate in very-high-altitude balloons. [8]
The Missile Technology Control Regime's Technical Annex, clause 11.A.3, includes a speed limit on GNSS receivers, set at 600 m/s. [9]
The Reciprocal Tariff Act provided for the negotiation of tariff agreements between the United States and separate nations, particularly Latin American countries. The Act served as an institutional reform intended to authorize the president to negotiate with foreign nations to reduce tariffs in return for reciprocal reductions in tariffs in the United States up to 50%. It resulted in a reduction of duties. This was the policy of the low tariff Democrats in response to the high tariff Republican program which produced the Smoot–Hawley tariff of 1930 that raised rates, and sharply reduced international trade. The Reciprocal Tariff Act was promoted heavily by Secretary of State Cordell Hull.
The Neutrality Acts were a series of acts passed by the US Congress in 1935, 1936, 1937, and 1939 in response to the growing threats and wars that led to World War II. They were spurred by the growth in isolationism and non-interventionism in the US following the US joining World War I, and they sought to ensure that the US would not become entangled again in foreign conflicts.
Kongsberg Gruppen is a Norwegian multinational company, that supplies high-technology systems to customers in the merchant marine, defence, aerospace, offshore oil and gas industries, and renewable and utilities industries.
Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) is one of three business units of Kongsberg Gruppen (KONGSBERG) of Norway and a supplier of defence and space related systems and products, mainly anti-ship missiles, military communications, and command and weapons control systems for naval vessels and air-defence applications. Today, the company is probably best known abroad for its development/industrialisation and production of the first passive IR homing anti-ship missile of the western world, the Penguin, starting delivery in the early 1970s. As of 2021, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace had 3,500 employees.
An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an exporter; the foreign buyers is an importer. Services that figure in international trade include financial, accounting and other professional services, tourism, education as well as intellectual property rights.
In international relations, multilateralism refers to an alliance of multiple countries pursuing a common goal. Multilateralism is based on the principles of inclusivity, equality, and cooperation, and aims to foster a more peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable world. Middle powers play a crucial role in the international system by promoting multilateralism and internationalism.
International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) is a set of U.S. Department of State regulations that control the export of defense and military technologies to safeguard national security and further its foreign policy objectives.
Non-tariff barriers to trade are trade barriers that restrict imports or exports of goods or services through mechanisms other than the simple imposition of tariffs. Such barriers are subject to controversy and debate, as they may comply with international rules on trade yet serve protectionist purposes.
Wassenaar Arrangement Semi-automatic Rifles are a line of Romanian-designed gas-operated semi-automatic rifles sold in the United States by Century International Arms. The rifles are manufactured in Romania by the Cugir Arms Factory and are a semi-automatic variant of the Pistol Mitralieră model 1963/1965, a Romanian licensed derivative of the Soviet AKM assault rifle. Century imports them and modifies them in order to comply with national legislation before sale to the general public via licensed traders. The WASR series takes its name from the 1996 Wassenaar Arrangement, a multilateral export control regime to monitor and limit the proliferation of certain conventional weapons and dual-use technologies.
Relations between the Soviet Unionand Japan between the Communist takeover in 1917 and the collapse of Communism in 1991 tended to be hostile. Japan had sent troops to counter the Bolshevik presence in Russia's Far East during the Russian Civil War, and both countries had been in opposite camps during World War II and the Cold War. In addition, territorial conflicts over the Kuril Islands and South Sakhalin were a constant source of tension. These, with a number of smaller conflicts, prevented both countries from signing a peace treaty after World War II, and even today matters remain unresolved.
Soviet foreign trade played only a minor role in the Soviet economy. In 1985, for example, exports and imports each accounted for only 4 percent of the Soviet gross national product. The Soviet Union maintained this low level because it could draw upon a large energy and raw material base, and because it historically had pursued a policy of self-sufficiency. Other foreign economic activity included economic aid programs, which primarily benefited the less developed Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) countries of Cuba, Mongolia, and Vietnam.
The Arms Export Control Act of 1976 gives the President of the United States the authority to control the import and export of defense articles and defense services. The H.R. 13680 legislation was passed by the 94th Congressional session and enacted into law by the 38th President of the United States Gerald R. Ford on June 30, 1976.
Export control is legislation that regulates the export of goods, software and technology. Some items could potentially be useful for purposes that are contrary to the interest of the exporting country. These items are considered to be controlled. The export of controlled item is regulated to restrict the harmful use of those items. Many governments implement export controls. Typically, legislation lists and classifies the controlled items, classifies the destinations, and requires exporters to apply for a licence to a local government department.
Foreign Economic Association Mashpriborintorg is a Russian import-export company, dealing in high-tech equipment and machinery. It is currently part of Ruselectronics.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus is the Belarusian government ministry which oversees the foreign relations of Belarus.
The Export Control Act of 1940 was one in a series of legislative efforts by the US government and initially the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt to accomplish two tasks: to avoid scarcity of critical commodities in a likely prewar environment and to limit the exportation of materiel to Imperial Japan. The act originated as a presidential proclamation by Roosevelt forbidding the exporting of aircraft parts, chemicals, and minerals without a license, and it was intended to induce Japan to curtail its occupation of the coast of Indochina.
Hitori Kumagai, born Kazuo Kumagai on June 10, 1936, is a Japanese author and whistleblower who uncovered the Toshiba–Kongsberg scandal.
The Toshiba–Kongsberg scandal, referred to as the Toshiba Machine Cocom violation case in Japan, unfolded during the final period of the Cold War. It centered on certain Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (CoCom) member nations who transgressed foreign exchange and foreign trade laws by exporting machine tools to the Soviet Union. These tools, when combined with Kongsberg numerical control (NC) devices manufactured in Norway, contravened the CoCom agreement. The equipment allowed the submarine technology of the Soviet Union to progress significantly as it was being used to mill quieter propellers for Soviet submarines.
The Foreign Military Sales Act of 1971, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law 91–672, 84 Stat. 2053, enacted January 12, 1971, was created as an amendment to the Foreign Military Sales Act of 1968. The Act of 1971 established declarations to promote international peace and national security for economic, political, and social progress. The declaration provided coordination for international armament appropriations meeting the objectives of the Nixon Administration's foreign policy.
The FRIENDSHIP Act of 1993 was enacted as a law of the United States enhancing prior statutory provisions which govern international relations between the former Republics of the Soviet Union and United States during the Cold War. The Act of Congress reformed United States statutes related to: