International Network of Engineers and Scientists Against Proliferation

The Missile Technology Control Regime

The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) is an informal export control arrangement among 32 nations including of the world's most advanced suppliers of ballistic missiles and missile-related materials and equipment. The regime is designed to stem the spread of ballistic and cruise missiles capable of delivering a 500 kilogram payload 300 kilometers or more, by establishing a common export control policy (the Guidelines) and a shared list of controlled items (the Annex) that each country implements with its own national legislation.

While the MTCR was originally meant to prevent the spread of missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, it was expanded in January 1993 to also cover delivery systems for chemical and biological weapons. Manned aircraft are exempted from the regime's controls, as are national space programs, so long as such programs could not contribute to delivery systems for weapons of mass destruction. The only absolute prohibition in the regime's guidelines is on the transfer of complete facilities for regimecontrolled missile production.

Unlike the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which seeks to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, the MTCR is neither an international treaty nor a legally binding agreement. MTCR members voluntarily pledge to adopt the regime's export guidelines and to restrict the export of items contained in the regime`s annex. There are no provisions in the regime for enforcement of its terms or sanctions for violations. U.S. laws, however, require the imposition of sanctions against entities that export or import items controlled by the MTCR, even if that firm or individual operates within a state that is not an adherent or member of the regime.

Trade of MTCR controlled items between regime members and with non-member states that adhere to the guidelines is not absolutely prohibited, but is constrained by national export control laws. MTCR guidelines call for restraint in transfer of all missile technologies listed in the annex, and a strong presumption to deny whole missile (Category I) transfers. Where there are Category I transfers, the exporting government is responsible for obtaining binding assurances from the recipient government regarding acceptable end-use. U.S. laws require end-use guarantees for all countries except for Canada.

While all nations have been encouraged to abide by the MTCR's terms, not all states have been invited to become formal regime members. Membership decisions, like all other regime decisions, are made only by consensus. Regime partners attend annual meetings, share intelligence about other nations programs of proliferation concerns, conduct export control workshops and are involved in revising and updating the regime's guidelines and technical annex. Meetings are not public due to the sensitive nature of the discussions and the dissemination of intelligence materials.

Extract from Arms Control Association at www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/mtcr.asp.