Finding Common Ground: U.S. Export Controls In A Changed Global Environment

This sequel to a 1987 National Academy of Sciences report, Balancing the National Interest, explicitly recognizes the trade-off between military security and economic goals in a world where the United States has much less exclusive control of technology. The Soviet Union is now less a target of controls than a critical participant with respect to the new target, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The report calls for centralizing the control process within the U.S. government and, implicitly recognizing the force of economics, suggests the Commerce Department as the agency.