What the UK Government will, and will not, approve for export, and why. This presentation explains the rationale behind UK export controls, the criteria used to assess the risks of every potential export, the numbers of export licence applications which are refused and the impact which refusals can have on exporters

1. Strategic Exports and
Global Responsibility
What the UK Government will, and will not, approve for export
May 2014
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2. Why have export control?
 It’s a legal requirement – under UK, EU and
international law
 It ensures that we’re complying with international
sanctions and treaties - which play a vital role in
international security
 It protects the security of the UK, our friends and allies
 It protects the security of other countries and regions
 It ensures that UK equipment and technology isn’t
misused - to violate human rights or humanitarian law,
or for crime or terrorism
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3. How to assess the risks of an export
 processes for assessing
these risks have been
refined over the years
 We now have a set of 8
criteria, based on UK
practice, applied across
the EU
 Most other Western
countries apply the
same criteria (though
not the US)
Criterion 1 International Commitments
Criterion 2 Internal Repression
Criterion 3 Internal Conflict
Criterion 4 Regional Conflict
Criterion 5 National Security
Criterion 6 International Community
Criterion 7 Diversion
Criterion 8 Economic Sustainability
Other Factors commercial and financial interests;
international relations; collaborative defence projects;
strategic industrial base
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4. Criterion 1
International Commitments
 EU Governments must not approve an
export inconsistent with: UN, OSCE, EU and
national sanctions, arms embargoes and
non-proliferation treaties
Countries subject to embargoes or other restrictions
Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burma, China,
Ivory Coast, DR Congo, DPRK, Eritrea, Guinea, Iran, Iraq,
Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Russia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria,
South Sudan, and Zimbabwe
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5. Criterion 2
Internal Repression
EU Governments must not approve an export if
there is a clear risk that the export might be used for
internal repression
SOURCE:wikimedia.com
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6. Criterion 3
Internal Conflict
EU Governments must not issue
licences for exports which would
provoke or prolong armed
conflicts or aggravate existing
tensions or conflicts in the country
of final destination
SOURCE:wordpress.com
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7. Criterion 4
Regional Conflict
EU Governments must not approve an export if there is a
clear risk that the recipient would use it aggressively
against another country
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8. Criterion 5
National Security
For every export, Governments take into account:
(i) the risk of the goods being used against their own or allied
forces;
(ii) the risk of reverse engineering;
(iii) the need to protect classified information and
capabilities.
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9. Criterion 6
International Community
Governments will take into account the
behaviour of the buyer country with regard
to the international community, in
particular its attitude to terrorism, the nature
of its alliances and its respect for
international law.
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10. Criterion 7
Diversion
Governments assess the
risk that the export will be
diverted, eg to a nuclear
weapons programme, to
terrorists or criminals, or to
a government agency with
a record of human rights
abuses
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11. Criterion 8
Economic Sustainability
Governments take into account whether the
proposed export would seriously undermine the
economy or seriously hamper the sustainable
development of the recipient country.
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12. Other factors
Governments may take into account their national:
 economic, commercial, financial interests
 international relations
 collaborative defence projects
 strategic industrial base.
However, these factors will not affect the application of
the other Criteria
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13. Export Licences are NOT automatic
 Last year on average, one
licence was refused every
working day
 As a result, companies had to
break contracts and write-off the
significant resources invested in
securing them
 Here’s why…
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14. Why 196 export licences were refused
in 2013
0 50 100 150 200 250
TOTAL
8 – Economic capacity of…
7 - Risk of diversion
6 – Behaviour of buyer country
5 – UK National security
4 – Regional instability
3 – Internal tensions or conflict
2 – Internal repression
1 - Embargoes/Treaties
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15. 2014 is no different
In the first three months of 2014, export licences were
refused for:
 China
 India
 Iran
 Libya
 Pakistan
 Turkey
 UAE and …
 the US
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16. From the British Exporters Association
website
 An exporter won a contract to supply goods
to China. He had read that licences took 3
weeks and set about manufacture
 At the time of writing, 7 months have
passed, some £150,000 has been spent on
manufacture, the goods are ready to be
exported
 but the licence is still under discussion and
may be refused…
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17. Any questions?
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Richard Tauwhare
Green Light Exports Consulting
Email: richard@greenlightexports.co.uk
Web: www.greenlightexports.co.uk
Phone: +44(0)770 311 0880