Waiver of U.S. Missile Proliferation Sanctions on China Extended, State Department Official Says

The United States has extended a waiver of sanctions against China for missile proliferation activities, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 22, 2004).

“On March 17, we extended for another six months the waiver of import penalties against certain Chinese government activities under the missile sanctions law,” a State Department official told AFP.

“The waiver of the import ban under the missile sanctions law was extended because it was essential to the national security of the United States to do so,” the official added.

Washington imposed sanctions against the state-run China North Industries Inc. (NORINCO) in September 2003 for sales of missile technology to an unnamed country, the official said. Previous penalties had been levied against the company for sales to Iran, according to AFP.

The sanctions were first waived in September 2004 for six months (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, March 22).

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