Problem

Irresponsible transfer of sensitive technologies

Other Names:
Diversion of high technology to hostile countries
Diversion of high technology to irresponsible groups
Trade in strategic goods with hostile countries
Trade in nuclear materials with irresponsible countries
Transfer of strategic technology to irresponsible countries
Incidence:

The Co-ordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM) is an agreement of seventeen advanced countries not to sell certain technical equipment to the former Soviet Union and its allies. A list of forbidden technology includes semiconductor manufacturing equipment, sophisticated machine tools, telecommunications equipment and computers. Despite the rules the former German DR illegally obtained Japanese-made precision equipment for producing advanced computer chips and the former Soviet Union was sold machine tools. Before mid-1990s the high-technology companies never knew which products were on the secret list and had to go through expensive and time consuming review by licensing authorities and by COCOM. However, COCOM has had little success in enlisting newly industrialized states, such as Taiwan and South Korea, and itself very nearly unravelled in 1990 with the demise of the Warsaw Pact.

Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and InfrastructureGOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and CommunitiesGOAL 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions
Problem Type:
E: Emanations of other problems
Date of last update
04.10.2020 – 22:48 CEST