In the 1980s, companies from Japan and Norway conspired to leak submarine technology to the Soviet Union in violation of export control rules. Former US export controls official Eric Hirschhorn joins to explain the Toshiba-Kongsberg scandal, the history of military allies coordinating export controls through COCOM, and how the scandal nearly derailed US efforts to reform its excessively restrictive export control policy. We conclude with lessons for today in light of allied efforts to coordinate export control policies in response to emerging threats to national security (47:35 total).
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- Eric L. Hirschhorn and Joseph Tasker, Jr. 1989. Export Controls: Toward a Rational System for Everyone Except Toshiba, with All Deliberate Speed. Law & Policy in International Business 20: 369-401.
- Chad P. Bown. 2023. The Return of Export Controls. A Risky Tactic That Requires Cooperation From Allies. Foreign Affairs, January 24.
- Chad P. Bown. 2022. National security, semiconductors, and the US move to cut off China. Trade Talks podcast episode 170, November 2.