The Return of Export Controls
On July 1, 1987, nine members of the U.S. Congress smashed Toshiba stereos with sledgehammers on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol in a symbolic protest against the bombshell revelation that the Japanese company had illegally provided the Soviet Union with access to quiet submarine propeller blades. This corporate decision, which made it more difficult for the U.S. Navy to detect and track Soviet nuclear submarines, put the collective security of Japan, the United States, and NATO at risk. In response, U.S. lawmakers called for the banning of imports from Toshiba and Kongsberg, a Norwegian state-owned defense contractor that had collaborated on the production of the blades.… Seguir leyendo »