Editorial Note

On February 28 the Coordinating Committee of the Paris Consultative Group (COCOM) met to hear a statement by the British delegation on behalf of the United States, France, and the United Kingdom on the question of security export controls in Sweden and Switzerland. The British representative proposed that each participating country should make it compulsory for exporters to Switzerland to exhibit a Swiss import certificate before granting an export license for items on the International Lists; he also proposed that each participating country should ask for an assurance from the Swedish Government that goods imported from them would not be re-exported or diverted to the Soviet bloc. COCOM accepted both of these recommendations and, in the case of Sweden, each participating country agreed to individually approach the Swedish Government to this end. These approved recommendations were referred to the Subcommittee of Experts on Transit Trade for their technical advice as to whether these proposals could be effectively applied and when the Subcommittee recommended the adoption of these procedures, COCOM formally adopted them at its meeting on March 5. (Paris despatch 2697 of March 20; 460.509/3–2051)