ABSTRACT
The debate within the United States over the revision of the Export Administration Act of 1979 which expired on September 30, 1983 and was there-after repeatedly renewed, took on a particular significance in the wake of the disputes between Western Europe and the United States over economic strategy vis-à-vis Communist-ruled states. The disagreement over the act's renewal offers insights into the lessons the American administration and Congress learned from the controversies of the late 1970s and early 1980s. In this context the important issues to be addressed include the extraterritorial extension of American legislative controls, as well as the attempt by the United States to exert influence over multilateral export controls within the CoCom framework of NATO.
