Why was the NSG created? What are its origins?

Shortly after entry into force of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in 1970, multilateral consultations on nuclear export controls to reach common understandings on how to implement Article III.2 of the NPT led to the establishment of two separate mechanisms for dealing with nuclear exports: the Zangger Committee in 1971 and what has become known as the Nuclear Suppliers Group in 1975. The Zangger Committee established the original Trigger List and three conditions of supply: (1) a non-explosive use assurance, (2) an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards requirement, and (3) a re-transfer provision that requires the receiving state to apply the same conditions when re-exporting these items.

The NSG, known originally as the “London Club,” convened a series of meetings to facilitate a consistent interpretation of the obligations arising from that Article among major suppliers in and outside of the NPT, following the explosion in 1974 of a nuclear device by a non-nuclear-weapon State, an event which demonstrated that nuclear technology transferred for peaceful purposes could be misused. The NSG elaborated on the three original conditions of supply with the Part 1 Guidelines and adopted the original Zangger Committee’s Trigger List as an annex to the Guidelines. As a part of NSG outreach, the group maintains a public document entitled “The Nuclear Suppliers Group: Its Origins, Role, and Activities”, which it updates periodically for publication by the IAEA as INFCIRC 539.