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{{Short description|Cold War-era coordinated embargo of Eastern Bloc states by the Western Bloc}}
{{Short description|Cold War embargo of Eastern Bloc states}}
{{For|other uses of Cocom|Cocom (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|COCOM|the United States military organization|Unified Combatant Command}}
{{Refimprove|date=March 2010}}
{{Refimprove|date=March 2010}}


The '''Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls''' ('''CoCom''') was established by the [[Western Bloc]] in the first five years<ref>{{ cite journal|url=/proxy/http://wwwsoc.nii.ac.jp/jaas/periodicals/JJAS/PDF/1991/No.04-127.pdf |author=Yasuhara, Y. |title=The Myth of Free Trade: The Origins of COCOM 1945–1950 |journal=The Japanese Journal of American Studies |year=1991 |volume=4 |pages=127–148 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=/proxy/https://web.archive.org/web/20040730220532/http://wwwsoc.nii.ac.jp/jaas/periodicals/JJAS/PDF/1991/No.04-127.pdf |archivedate=2004-07-30 }}</ref> after the end of [[World War II]], during the [[Cold War]], to put an [[embargo]] on [[Comecon]] countries. 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 successor, the [[Wassenaar Arrangement]], was established.
The '''Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls''' ('''CoCom''') was established in 1949<ref>{{ cite journal|url=/proxy/http://wwwsoc.nii.ac.jp/jaas/periodicals/JJAS/PDF/1991/No.04-127.pdf |author=Yasuhara, Y. |title=The Myth of Free Trade: The Origins of COCOM 1945–1950 |journal=The Japanese Journal of American Studies |year=1991 |volume=4 |pages=127–148 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=/proxy/https://web.archive.org/web/20040730220532/http://wwwsoc.nii.ac.jp/jaas/periodicals/JJAS/PDF/1991/No.04-127.pdf |archivedate=2004-07-30 }}</ref> at the beginning of the [[Cold War]] to coordinate controls on exports from [[Western Bloc]] countries to the Soviet Union and its allies. CoCom ceased to function on March 31, 1994, but the control list of embargoed goods was retained by the member nations until the [[Wassenaar Arrangement]] was established in 1996.


== Membership ==
== Membership ==
CoCom had 17 member states:
In its final years, CoCom had 17 member states:
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{{div col|colwidth=13em}}
*{{AUS}}
*{{AUS}}
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*{{USA}}
*{{USA}}
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{{div col end}}

Despite being neutral, Switzerland joined the CoCom sanctions against the Eastern bloc countries; see {{interlanguage link|Hotz-Linder-Agreement|de}}.<ref>{{Cite web |url=/proxy/https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/048308/2006-11-17/ |title=Hotz-Linder-Agreement |date=2006-11-17 |access-date=2024-04-13 |publisher=[[Historical Dictionary of Switzerland]]|lang=de}}</ref>

=== Laws and regulations ===
=== Laws and regulations ===
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.<ref>{{cite report |author=Christopher Casey |author-link= |date=2023 |title=Export Controls—International Coordination: Issues for Congress|url=/proxy/https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47684 |publisher=[[Congressional Research Service]] |page=12-14 |docket= |access-date= |quote=}}</ref> However, throughout the Cold War, the United States maintained controls in excess of those agreed to in CoCom.<ref>{{cite report |author=Christopher Casey |author-link= |date=2023 |title=Export Controls—International Coordination: Issues for Congress|url=/proxy/https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47684 |publisher=[[Congressional Research Service]] |page=26 |docket= |access-date= |quote=}}</ref>
In the United States, CoCom compliance was implemented in the 1960s via the [[Arms Export Control Act]] (AECA) and the State Department's regulatory supervision on AECA via [[International Traffic in Arms Regulations]] (ITAR), which are still in effect.

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).


==Violations==
==Violations==
{{main|Toshiba-Kongsberg scandal}}
{{main|Toshiba-Kongsberg scandal}}
[[Toshiba|Toshiba Machine Company]] of [[Japan]] and [[Kongsberg Group]] of [[Norway]] supplied eight computer-guided 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.<ref>{{cite news|first=Roderick|last=Seeman|title=Toshiba Case—CoCom - Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Control Revision|date=April 1987|publisher=The Japan Lawletter|url=/proxy/http://japanlaw.info/lawletter/april87/fdf.htm|accessdate=18 September 2007|url-status=dead|archiveurl=/proxy/https://web.archive.org/web/20070927102631/http://japanlaw.info/lawletter/april87/fdf.htm|archivedate=27 September 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
[[Toshiba|Toshiba Machine Company]] of [[Japan]] and [[Kongsberg Group]] of [[Norway]] supplied eight [[Numerical control|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.<ref>{{cite news|first=Roderick|last=Seeman|title=Toshiba Case—CoCom - Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Control Revision|date=April 1987|publisher=The Japan Lawletter|url=/proxy/http://japanlaw.info/lawletter/april87/fdf.htm|accessdate=18 September 2007|url-status=dead|archiveurl=/proxy/https://web.archive.org/web/20070927102631/http://japanlaw.info/lawletter/april87/fdf.htm|archivedate=27 September 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In a related case, [[france|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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sanger |first1=David E. |title=4 in France Arrested in Soviet Sale |url=/proxy/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/23/business/4-in-france-arrested-in-soviet-sale.html |access-date=22 January 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=23 April 1988 |archive-url=/proxy/https://web.archive.org/web/20150525091920/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/23/business/4-in-france-arrested-in-soviet-sale.html |archive-date=25 May 2015 |page=37}}</ref>


== Legacy ==
== Legacy ==

⚫
In [[GPS]] technology, the term "COCOM Limits" also refers to a limit placed on GPS tracking devices that disables tracking when the device calculates that it is moving faster than {{convert|1000|kn}} at an altitude higher than {{convert|18000|m|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web | url=/proxy/http://ravtrack.com/GPStracking/cocom-gps-tracking-limits/469/ | title=COCOM GPS Tracking Limits |publisher=RAVTrack.com| date=October 6, 2010| author=js |accessdate=July 26, 2011}}</ref> This was intended to prevent the use of GPS in [[intercontinental ballistic missile]]-like applications.
=== GPS ===
⚫
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 {{convert|1000|kn|m/s}} and/or at an altitude higher than {{convert|18000|m|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web | url=/proxy/http://ravtrack.com/GPStracking/cocom-gps-tracking-limits/469/ | title=COCOM GPS Tracking Limits |publisher=RAVTrack.com| date=October 6, 2010| author=js |accessdate=July 26, 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web | url=/proxy/http://blog.jgc.org/2010/11/gaga-1-cocom-limit-for-gps.html | title=GAGA-1: CoCom limit for GPS | publisher=jgc.org |first=John |last= Graham-Cumming |accessdate=July 26, 2011}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite web | url=/proxy/http://blog.jgc.org/2010/11/gaga-1-cocom-limit-for-gps.html | title=GAGA-1: CoCom limit for GPS | publisher=jgc.org |first=John |last= Graham-Cumming |accessdate=July 26, 2011}}</ref>

The [[Missile Technology Control Regime]]'s Technical Annex, clause 11.A.3, includes a speed limit on GNSS receivers, set at 600&nbsp;m/s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Current situation with CoCom regulations and GPS receivers for balloons and cubesats |url=/proxy/https://space.stackexchange.com/a/14695 |website=Space Exploration Stack Exchange |language=en}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
* [[Export control]]
* [[Multilateral export control regime]]
* [[International Traffic in Arms Regulations]]
* [[International Traffic in Arms Regulations]]
* [[Arms Export Control Act]]
* [[Arms Export Control Act]]
* [[Defense Security Cooperation Agency]]
* [[Defense Security Cooperation Agency]]
* [[Export Administration Regulations]]
* [[Export Administration Regulations]]
* [[John_Barron_(journalist)|John Barron]] KGB Today: The Hidden Hand, 1983.
* [[John Barron (American journalist)|John Barron]] KGB Today: The Hidden Hand, 1983.


==References==
==Further reading==
*{{cite report |author=Casey, Christopher |author-link= |date=2023 |title=Export Controls—International Coordination: Issues for Congress|url=/proxy/https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47684 |publisher=[[Congressional Research Service]] |page= |docket= |access-date= |quote=}}
⚫
{{Reflist}}
;Notes
{{refbegin}}
* Mastanduno, M. (1992). ''Economic containment: CoCom and the politics of East-West trade''. Cornell paperbacks. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, N.Y. {{ISBN|978-0801499968}}
* Mastanduno, M. (1992). ''Economic containment: CoCom and the politics of East-West trade''. Cornell paperbacks. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, N.Y. {{ISBN|978-0801499968}}
* Noehrenberg, E. H. (1995). ''Multilateral export controls and international regime theory: the effectiveness of COCOM''. Pro Universitate.
* Noehrenberg, E. H. (1995). ''Multilateral export controls and international regime theory: the effectiveness of COCOM''. Pro Universitate.
* Yasuhara, Y. (1991). ''The myth of free trade: the origins of COCOM 1945-1950''. The Japanese Journal of American Studies, 4.
* Yasuhara, Y. (1991). ''The myth of free trade: the origins of COCOM 1945-1950''. The Japanese Journal of American Studies, 4.
{{refend}}


==External links==
==References==
⚫
{{Reflist}}
* [http://evansresearch.org/cocom-lists/ CoCom control lists, as published by the British Government]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050207085635/http://www.admfincs.forces.gc.ca/admfincs/subjects/cfao/036-56_e.asp CFAO 36-56 -- Export Controls Over Strategic and Military Goods]
* [https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1994-04-04/html/94-7936.htm Establishment of New General License for Shipments to Country Groups QWY and the People's Republic of China]
* [http://cns.miis.edu/npr/pdfs/lipson62.pdf The reincarnation of CoCom: Explaining post-war export controls]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050813180847/http://www.exportcontrolblog.com/ Export Control Blog]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140113232052/http://www.auilr.org/pdf/4/4-1-8.pdf The Toshiba-Kongsberg Incident: Shortcomings of Cocom, and Recommendations for Increased Effectiveness of Export Controls to the East Bloc, Wende A. Wrubel]


[[Category:Export and import control]]
[[Category:Export and import control]]
Line 71: Line 76:
[[Category:Cold War]]
[[Category:Cold War]]
[[Category:Foreign trade of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Foreign trade of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Sanctions against Russia]]
[[Category:1945 establishments]]

Latest revision as of 10:17, 9 October 2024

For other uses of Cocom, see Cocom (disambiguation).

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 and its allies. CoCom ceased to function on March 31, 1994, but the control list of embargoed goods was retained by the member nations until the Wassenaar Arrangement was established in 1996.

Membership

[edit]

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 [de].[2]

Laws and regulations

[edit]

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).

Violations

[edit]
Main article: Toshiba-Kongsberg scandal

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]

Legacy

[edit]

GPS

[edit]

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]

See also

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
  • Casey, Christopher (2023). Export Controls—International Coordination: Issues for Congress (Report). Congressional Research Service.
  • Mastanduno, M. (1992). Economic containment: CoCom and the politics of East-West trade. Cornell paperbacks. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, N.Y. ISBN 978-0801499968
  • Noehrenberg, E. H. (1995). Multilateral export controls and international regime theory: the effectiveness of COCOM. Pro Universitate.
  • Yasuhara, Y. (1991). The myth of free trade: the origins of COCOM 1945-1950. The Japanese Journal of American Studies, 4.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Yasuhara, Y. (1991). "The Myth of Free Trade: The Origins of COCOM 1945–1950" (PDF). The Japanese Journal of American Studies. 4: 127–148. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-07-30.
  2. ^ "Hotz-Linder-Agreement" (in German). Historical Dictionary of Switzerland. 2006-11-17. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
  3. ^ Christopher Casey (2023). Export Controls—International Coordination: Issues for Congress (Report). Congressional Research Service. p. 12-14.
  4. ^ Christopher Casey (2023). Export Controls—International Coordination: Issues for Congress (Report). Congressional Research Service. p. 26.
  5. ^ Seeman, Roderick (April 1987). "Toshiba Case—CoCom - Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Control Revision". The Japan Lawletter. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 18 September 2007.
  6. ^ Sanger, David E. (23 April 1988). "4 in France Arrested in Soviet Sale". The New York Times. p. 37. Archived from the original on 25 May 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  7. ^ js (October 6, 2010). "COCOM GPS Tracking Limits". RAVTrack.com. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  8. ^ Graham-Cumming, John. "GAGA-1: CoCom limit for GPS". jgc.org. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  9. ^ "Current situation with CoCom regulations and GPS receivers for balloons and cubesats". Space Exploration Stack Exchange.
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