12. Editorial Note

On April 23, 1970, Presidentʼs Assistant for National Security Affairs Henry Kissinger sent a memorandum to the Secretaries of State, Defense, and Commerce on the issue of export controls. Copies were sent to the Director of Central Intelligence, the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The memorandum reads, in part, as follows:

“The President has made the following decisions on this subject [export controls] on the basis of several memoranda recently submitted by the Secretary of Commerce:

  • “1. The list of items and data subject to control for export to the USSR and the Communist countries of Eastern Europe should henceforth be limited to:
    • “a. COCOM items
    • “b. Those non-COCOM commodities and technical data, which, in the judgment of the U.S., could contribute significantly to the development, production, or use of military hardware, or to the military-supporting industrial capability of the USSR and the countries of Eastern Europe, to the detriment of our national security, regardless of foreign availability….
  • “3. Decisions on specific cases should take account of over-all U.S. policy toward the specific country for which the export is destined. At present, this would mean, for example, more liberal treatment for Romania than for other Eastern European states.”

For the full text of the memorandum, see Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, volume IV, Foreign Assistance, International Development, Trade Policies, 1969–1972, Document 318.