Cocom

Summary of Cocom

An informal working group comprised of Western governments, established for the purpose of preventing exports of certain strategic products to potentially hostile countries. The COCOM proscribed countries are: the USSR, its WARSAW pact (read this and related legal terms for further details) allies, Albania, Vietnam, North Korea, Kampuchea, and Mongolia. Lesser controls apply on exports to the People’s Republic of China. Following adoption of the Export Control Act of 1949, the United States joined with Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Italy to form the Consultative Group. Subsequently, the original parties were joined by West Germany, Norway, Denmark, Canada, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, and Japan. The group established a permanent Coordinating Committee (i.e., COCOM) in Paris to develop and update a list of products to be denied exportation to the Soviet bloc; the products so identified are contained in the COCOM List, which incorporates three individual listings of products: the International Atomic Energy List, the International Munitions List, and the International List, which includes articles having both military and nonmilitary applications. COCOM member countries may also restrict exports of other products, on a unilateral basis. A uniform control procedure, known as the INTERNATIONAL IMPORT CERTIFICATE-DELIVERY VERIFICATION SYSTEM (read this and related legal terms for further details), was devised and implemented among the member countries to ensure that restricted products were not diverted to the East. During Fiscal Year 1983, 260 applications for export licenses for Eastern bloc destinations were denied by the Department of Commerce; of these, 228 applications involved COCOM items.

(Main Author: William J. Miller)

COCOM List and the GATT Policy Negotiations

In relation to the GATT Policy Negotiations, Christopher Mark (1993) provided the following explanation and/or definition of COCOM List: A list compiled by the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls, or COCOM (Sec.III), designating strategic or sensitive products to be denied exportation to potentially hostile countries. The COCOM List encompasses the International Atomic Energy List; the International Munitions List; and the International List, which includes both military items and dual-use goods. A uniform control procedure, known as the International Import Certificate-Delivery Verification System, was established by COCOM member countries to prevent diversion of restricted products. See also Commodity Control List.