Technology Transfer To Eastern Europe And The Soviet Union

EDM number 501 in 1989-90, proposed by David Atkinson on 08/02/1990.

That this House, aware of the technological superiority of Western weaponry which has contributed to the present peace in Europe, confirms the need to protect this superiority through the Co-ordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM) until arms control and reductions, and confidence building over a reasonable period of time justify that need being reviewed; acknowledges the complaints of Western companies that COCOM rules prevent them from taking advantage of valuable trading opportunities including joint ventures in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union; welcomes the improvements in COCOM review procedures in recent years which have reduced the list of sensitive items but fears that they may still not be keeping up with the pace of progress in technology; notes President Gorbachev's appeal to amend the COCOM rules to reflect the process of reform in the Soviet Union, and requests to grant exceptions for Hungary and Poland and the Soviet request for closer co-operation with the West on the development of new technologies; and calls on COCOM member states to undertake a fundamental reassessment of the current state of Soviet technology, and a complete review of the COCOM lists in the light of this reassessment, with a view to encouraging maximum opportunities for trade, and to use the forthcoming CSCE Conference on Economic Co-operation in Europe, in Bonn from 19th March to 11th April for a discussion of high-technology trade and the establishment of a committee of experts to make recommendations for the sharing of high technology.

This motion has been signed by a total of 10 MPs.