COORDINATING COMMITTEE RECORD OF DISCUSSION ON GERMAN STATEMENT ON THE INTERPRETATION OF ITEM 1133 (A) 17TH AND 21ST MARCH 1960

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP62-00647A000100020010-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 6, 1999
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: March 23, 1960
• Content Type: MIN

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26 : CIA-RDP62-00647A000OQ020U'f 0-9
23rCMarch, 1960. COCOM Document 3711.33/4?
COORDINATING COMMITTEE
RECORD OF DISCUSSION
ON
GERMAN STATEMENT OH TE INTERPRETATION OF ITEM 113Cal
1-7th said 21st March 1960
Present: Belgium(Luxembourg), Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,
Netherlands, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.
References: COCOM Doe. No. 3711.33/2 and 3.
1. The CHAIRMAN recalled that the Committee had agreed to hear final
views from the Netherland- and Unite< States Delegations at that day's meeting.
Since the Netherlands Delogate was absent, however, the Chairman noted that the
Committee would only be able to hear the United States Delegate's statement.
2. The UNITED STATES Delegate stated that his authorities had care-
fully studied the problem posed by the German Delegation on February 22nd
(COCOM Doe. 3711.33i2), the responses made by the German Delegation to the
questions asked during the meeting of March 7th and the technical brochures
provided by the German Delegation at that time. The United States authorities
welcomed the constructive spirit which led the German authorities to bring the
question to the Committee. In response to the German question, they had con-
cluded that the stopcocks in question were embargoed by International List
Item 1133(a). The reasons for this conclusion wore:
1. Any valve capable of meeting the temperature specifications of
Item 1133(a) must of necessity be specially designed to do so.
All extremely low temperature valves, including those used in
the refrigeration industry, must be specially designed in order
to function properly over a wide temperature range. Fundamen-
tally, the problem was to design valves in which all parts
would expand and contract at the same rate in response to
changes in temperature. This critical performance was achieved
by the special design of parts and through the use of specially
adapted alloys. The alloy employed in the valves described by
German Delegation was, to the knowledge of the United States
experts, used only for extremely low temperature valves.
2. The valves described by the German Delegation were rated by the
manufacturer for use at temperatures of -130?C. and below.
They were, Cher-,fore, specially designed to operate at these
temperatures and were consequently embargoed by Item 1133(a).
3. In the opinion of the United States authorities there were no
ordinary industrial valves rated for operation below -130?C.
While valves similar to those described by the German De].erna-
tion might have been in use in the refrigeration industry for
many years, they were nevertheless necessarily specially de-
signed for the extremely low temperatures cited. There were,
indeed, many refrigeration uses for valves specially designed
to operate at -130?C., but these ranged from those of a non-
strategic nature to those used in-the manufacture, storage,
processing and'use of strategic liquified.gases. Their use in
connection with military rockets and missiles was well knoi,7r. to
the competent military authorities.
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In view of these considerations, the United States authorities believed that
Germany should submit any proposed exports of the valves described under the
normal exceptions procedures and include complete technical specifications in,
the submission. 'The Committee could then determine the strategic value of
such valves on a case-by-case basis.
3. The GERMAN Delegate thanked his United States colleague for
stating his Government's views. cue undertook to transmit them to his authori-
ties. He recalled, however, that the only criterion to be taken into cons:i_d--
ration in deciding if th.es,: valves wore covered by Item 1133(a) was whether or
not they were "specially designed" for very low temperatures. The Delegate
stated that his authorities would study the matter afresh in the light of the
views expressed, and inform the Committee of their findings at some later date.
4. On the 21st March, the NETHERLANDS Delegate stated that his
authorities, while regretting that the German Delegation had been unable to
state the civilian use of the 'cocks concerned, agreed that cocks opera-
ting at low temperatures such as -130?C. were certainly designed for that use,
and were therefore covered by Item 1133(a) and under embargo. The Delegate
recalled that the Committee's intention had moreover been to protect the
manufacturing processes of such cocks.
5. The GEMLY Delegate thanked the Netherlands Delegate whose state-
ment he had heard with interest. He undertook to transmit it to his authori-
ties and in the meantime, he recalled his statement in paragraph 3 above.
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