Zangger Committee 
Fact Sheet Released by the Bureau of Nonproliferation
U.S. Department of State, November 1, 2000



The purpose of the 36-nation Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Exporters (Zangger)
Committee is to harmonize implementation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty's requirement to apply
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards to nuclear exports. Article III.2 of the
Treaty requires parties to ensure that IAEA safeguards are applied to exports to non-nuclear
weapon states of (a) source or special fissionable material, or (b) equipment or material especially
designed or prepared for the processing, use or production of special fissionable material. 

Between 1971 and 1974, a group of 15 nuclear supplier states held a series of informal meetings in
Vienna chaired by Professor Claude Zangger of Switzerland. The group's objective was to reach a
common understanding on: (a) the definition of "equipment or material especially designed or
prepared for the processing, use or production of special fissionable material;" and (b) the
conditions and procedures that would govern exports of such equipment or material in order to
meet the obligations of Article III.2 on the basis of fair commercial competition. The group, which
became known as the Zangger Committee, decided that it would be informal and that its decisions
would not be legally binding upon its members. 

The Committee maintains and updates a list of equipment that may only be exported if safeguards
are applied to the recipient facility (called the "Trigger List" because such exports trigger the
requirement for safeguards); and (b) allows members to coordinate on nuclear export issues. The
relative informality of the Zangger Committee has enabled it to take the lead on certain
nonproliferation issues that would be more difficult to resolve in the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
Moreover, China is a member of the Zangger Committee. 

At the October 2000 meeting, the Committee discussed the results of the 2000 NPT Review
Conference (REVCON). The Committee agreed to form two informal "Friends of the Chair"
groups to: 1) consider preparations for the 2005 NPT REVCON; and 2) continue consideration of
possible future adoption of a policy of requiring full-scope safeguards as a condition of supply to
non-nuclear weapon states. The U.S. reported on the status of consideration of possible additional
controls on americium and neptunium. Members agreed that these materials fell outside the scope of
NPT Article III.2 for inclusion on the Trigger List. Sweden, Chair of a working group to consider
addition of plutonium enrichment equipment to the Trigger List, reported no agreement as yet. The
Chairman reported on an initial informal meeting with IAEA staff to discuss procedures for keeping
the Agency informed on Trigger List changes and the rationale for such changes, since the Agency
uses the Zangger Trigger List as a reference document. 

[Bureau of Nonproliferation, US Department of State Website, http://www.state.gov/www/global/arms/bureaunp.html.]