The following is an archived copy of a message sent to a Discussion List run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
Views expressed in this archived message are those of the author, not of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
[Main archive index/search] [List information] [Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq Homepage]
> CASI press release on 1382 contains this sentence- > > "If the resolutions procedures are adopted, the import restrictions on > goods -- one element of the sanctions -- would be replaced by a technology > transfer control regime." > > Anyone able to elaborate on import restrictions and tech. transfer regimes > as different species or am I reading something into the sentence? > > Is a "technological transfer control regime" a technique that has some > history of use (as it is proposed in 1382) elsewhere? Hi Andrew, You're probably right to note that technology transfer controls are sub-species of import restrictions more generally. When we wrote that sentence we wanted to draw attention to the changing nature of the import restrictions. There are two aspects of this. First, the controls on imports to Iraq are becoming more focussed on weapons and weapons related material. Originally (1990, 1991) the import restrictions were near total, implying a desire to exert general pressure on Iraq. Until passage of SCR 1284 in December 1999, the Iraq Sanctions Committee of the Security Council maintained control over all imports to Iraq - again a very broad set of controls. 1284 mandated "green lists" of items that can be imported without further approval from the Sanctions Committee, beginning a movement towards more focussed import controls. The 1382 proposal would end import controls on all items except those explicitly listed as being associated with weapons. (I've used the word "end" a bit loosely here as imports would still be processed through UN channels - technical rather than explicitly political in this case - and would require payment from the escrow account.) Second, the proposed 'dual use' lists represent a broadening over the original 'dual use' lists (the 1051 lists) in two senses. First, they add to the original lists, and are therefore longer. Second, while the 1051 lists are organised around those weapons systems prohibited to Iraq by the Security Council (nuclear, biological, chemical and missiles with ranges of > 150km), the new lists refer to military technology more generally. We used the term "technology transfer control regime" because it does have a history of use. During the Cold War period western nations controlled exports to Soviet bloc countries under the COCOM arrangements. In the 1990s, these evolved into the Wassenaar Arrangement. More countries (including Russia) are members of Wassenaar, and Wassenaar's controls are less stringent than were COCOM's (both in terms of goods controlled and countries' reporting requirements). As my knowledge of these instruments is quite limited, I'd appreciate postings from other members of the list who are more familiar with them. As a final observation, 'tough' technology transfer control regimes may require controls on, or at least monitoring of, non-controlled goods. For example, a target state may be engaged in purchases through a series of companies involved in innocuous activities. Tracking the financial flows between these companies and other companies may, though, reveal strange patterns that might lead investigators to wonder whether they are also playing a more clandestine role. Best, Colin Rowat work | Room 406, Department of Economics | The University of Birmingham | Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK | web.bham.ac.uk/c.rowat | (+44/0) 121 414 3754 | (+44/0) 121 414 7377 (fax) | c.rowat@bham.ac.uk personal | (+44/0) 7768 056 984 (mobile) | (+44/0) 7092 378 517 (fax) | (707) 221 3672 (US fax) | colinrowat@yahoo.com _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a discussion list run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq For removal from list, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk CASI's website - www.casi.org.uk - includes an archive of all postings.