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Dual-use exports are those commodities, processes, or technologies created primarily for
civilian purposes which can also be used to develop or enhance the capabilities of military
equipment.
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Order Code RS20517
Updated September 29, 2006
Military Technology and
Conventional Weapons Export Controls:
The Wassenaar Arrangement
Richard F. Grimmett
Specialist in National Defense
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Summary
This report provides background on the Wassenaar Arrangement, which was
formally established in July 1996 as a multilateral arrangement aimed at controlling
exports of conventional weapons and related dual-use goods and military technology.
It is the successor to the expired Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export
Controls (COCOM). This report focuses on the current status, features, and issues
raised by the establishment and functioning of the Wassenaar Arrangement. It will be
updated only if warranted by notable events related to the Arrangement.
Background
For some 45 years, the primary international organization for coordinating
restrictions on dual-use exports was COCOM, the Coordinating Committee For
Multilateral Export Controls.
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COCOM was formed in 1949 to limit military-related
transfers to Communist countries. At the time of its termination at the end of March
1994, it consisted of 17 industrial countries, including all members of NATO — except
Iceland — and Japan and Australia. COCOM operated on the basis of “consensus,” and
functioned without the existence of a treaty or specific international legal authorization.
In reality, COCOM “consensus” gave any member — and that member was most likely
to be the United States — a veto over the export by any other member of a controlled
good or technology.
The day-to-day operations of COCOM involved meetings of a Secretariat in Paris
at which the members agreed upon the technical specifications of the dual-use items that
were being considered for export to Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and the
People’s Republic of China. The Secretariat also decided whether to allow exceptions to
