Missile Technology Control Regime

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The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), drafted by Dr. Richard H. Speier, is an informal and voluntary partnership between 34 countries to prevent the proliferation of missile technology.

The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) was established in April of 1987 by Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Great Britain, and the United States. The MTCR was created in order to curb the spread of unmanned delivery systems for nuclear weapons, specifically delivery systems that could carry a minimum payload of 500 kg a minimum of 300 km. At the annual meeting in Oslo in July 1992 it was agreed to expand the scope of the MTCR to include nonproliferation of UAV’s for all weapons of mass destruction, making the payload/range threshold much less rigid than the original 500kg/300km. Prohibited materials are divided into two Categories, which are outlined in the MTCR Equipment, Software, and Technology Annex. Membership has grown to 34 nations, with 3 additional nations, including Israel, adhering to the MTCR Guidelines unilaterally. In 2002, the MTCR was supplemented by the International Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (ICOC), also known as the Hague Code of Conduct, which calls for restraint and care in the proliferation of unmanned delivery systems, regardless of range or payload, and has 119 members, thus working parallel to the MTCR with broader restrictions and a greater membership. Since its establishment, the MTCR has been successful in helping to slow or stop several ballistic missile programs, according to the Arms Control Association: “Argentina, Egypt, and Iraq abandoned their joint Condor II ballistic missile program. Brazil, South Africa, South Korea, and Taiwan also shelved or eliminated missile or space launch vehicle programs. Some Eastern European countries, such as Poland and the Czech Republic, destroyed their ballistic missiles, in part, to better their chances of joining MTCR.” In October 1994, in order to make the enforcement of MTCR Guidelines more uniform, the member states established a “no undercut” policy, meaning if one member denies the sale of some technology to another country, then all members must adhere. The ICOC, initiated by members of the MTCR, took the principles of the regime, expanded upon them, and offered membership to all nations. Thus, 117 nations now enforce export controls to curb the proliferation of UAV’s.

The People's Republic of China is not a member of the MTCR but has agreed to abide by the original 1987 Guidelines and Annex, but not the subsequent revisions. China first verbally pledged that it would adhere to the MTCR in November 1991, and included these assurances in a letter from its Foreign Minister in February 1992. China reiterated its pledge in the October 1994 US-China joint statement. In their October 1997 joint statement, the United States and China stated that they agree "to build on the 1994 Joint Statement on Missile Nonproliferation." (Source: Center for Nonproliferation Studies)