Series AC/5 - Working Group on Use of Export Controls

The AC/5 chronological series contains the records of the Working Group on Use of Export Controls. In a resolution adopted on 18 September 1950, the Council Deputies drew attention to the shortage and high cost of the raw materials needed for military production and asked the Deputies to take action (see C5-D/4(Final). The Working Group on Use of Export Controls (hereinafter referred to as the Working Group) was created and its terms of reference approved by the Council Deputies on 8 December 1950 (see D-D/207). The shortage of raw materials was a concern outside the NATO framework. Reports to this effect were sent by various nations to NATO, the OEEC and international conferences on raw materials. The Working Group's mission was threefold. Firstly, it checked that these reports did not run counter to NATO's interests in respect of defence production. Secondly, it assessed the seriousness of the shortage and the prospects for improvement. Finally, if these prospects were not satisfactory, it submitted recommendations to the Council Deputies. The Working Group cooperated closely with the Chairman of the Defence Production Board and reported to the Council Deputies. On 10 April 1951, the Defence Production Board submitted a list of raw materials of which there was a critical shortage and which were needed as a matter of urgency (see D-D(51)94). On this basis, the Working Group began its work. It held its first meeting on 14 December 1950 and its last meeting on 18 June 1951 (see AC/5-R/2).