Technology Control Regimes

Abstract

The four major export control regimes that include the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), Australia Group, and the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA), were established to regulate the export of sensitive nuclear material and technologies that could be used in WMD. Over the past few years these technology control regimes have become increasingly politicized and are being used to serve the commercial and political interests of the major powers. The most important of these regimes—the NSG that was created to regulate nuclear exports and strengthen the nuclear nonproliferation norms may have lost its credibility after the NSG members were forced to grant exemption from the NSG guidelines to a non-NPT state like India. Subsequent efforts to make another exception and bring India as one of the equal partners in the group, while denying the similar privilege to the other non-NPT states—is likely to discredit the NSG further. Apart from the four export control regimes, there are ongoing efforts to discourage states from building their indigenous nuclear fuel cycle facilities and instead participate in multilateral nuclear fuel cycle approaches. Such initiatives, if developed on a non-discriminatory basis could provide an opportunity for countries like India and Pakistan to become contributing partners while using these approaches to meet their own nuclear energy needs.