ABSTRACT
The proposals were designed to hold Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM) together, to "ensure that COCOM continues to be an effective guarantor of Western security." This chapter provides the answer by examining United States (U.S) perceptions and interests over time. It examines changes in American thinking and policy from COCOM's inception to the late 1980s. In the late 1980s, the fundamental principles underlying COCOM existence, principles that defined its raison d'être, were challenged. During the cold war period, the US-inspired trade controls were sweeping, and had both economic and military objectives. The effort to revitalize COCOM had its origins in the early 1980s when hard-liners dominated the Reagan administration. America's allies were particularly resistant to the idea of formalizing COCOM under a treaty. At first glance, the most significant change in America's COCOM policy appeared to be its approach to the COCOM list.
