scholarly journals Trading Emerging Technologies: Export Controls Meet Reality

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Scott A. Jones

Abstract “Emerging technologies” and the growing inventory of their dual-use applications increasingly challenge policymakers with how to balance technological development, economic competitiveness, and national security priorities. While dual-use export control regulators have always struggled with balancing economic and security interests, emerging technologies are challenging controls systems ill-equipped to define or practically control them. As the most advanced case, the US export control effort is an instructive regarding the challenges of deploying conventional controls over defining and controlling rapidly developing technology sets. This article reviews the US case in light of the current challenges posed by emerging and foundational technologies.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Machiko Kanetake

Abstract Dual-use export control regulates the trade of items which serve both civilian and military purposes. Justification for imposing export controls has been furnished by the need for safeguarding regional and international security, especially the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The rationale for applying export controls has been subject to challenges, however. This Security and Human Rights special issue addresses the underlying justification for imposing export controls by focusing on their technological fronts. Scott A. Jones’ piece sheds light on the regulatory challenges that have arisen for the US’ control over so-called “emerging” technologies. Cindy Whang moves on to compare the US’ approach with that of the EU’s dual-use export control. Ben Wagner proposes a set of policy options for the design of export controls on digital technologies, so that they can serve as an effective vehicle for promoting the protection of human rights.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 161-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamed Alavi ◽  
Tatsiana Khamichonak

Abstract Export controls for dual-use items are an important constituent element of both the security policies of state exporters and WMD non-proliferation efforts. Dual-use goods and technologies can be used for both civil and military purposes, which requires careful oversight over their export to countries that are considered unfriendly or have ambiguous foreign policy attitudes. By their very nature, dual-use items may be used both to further legitimate ends, like promoting technological development and strengthening economic ties, and to aid in unwarranted acts. State exporters are faced with the responsibility of balancing the security objectives pertaining to exports of dual-use items with the competitiveness of local economies. The paper discusses the EU export control regime and EU membership in international export control groups. In doing so, comparative and normative research methods are chosen to analyze existing literature on Council Regulation 428/2009 and other international export control groups, including the Wassenaar Arrangement, the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Australia Group (AG) and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). The paper will conclude by identifying shortcomings and addressing possible amendments to the regulation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 579-599
Author(s):  
Cindy Whang

ABSTRACT On 13 August 2018, US President Donald Trump signed a legislation called the ‘Export Controls Act of 2018’ (ECA) that is important for reinvigorating the export control regime in the USA. This paper argues that contents of the ECA will not only impact the USA but also the way that the ECA is structured will potentially have a long-lasting influence on international export control regimes and the role that export controls play in international trade. International export control regimes were established post-World War II as a trade measure to pursue common strategic and national security goals among allied countries. Due to the sensitive nature of national security issues, international export control agreements were structured as non-binding agreements that heavily relied on the consensus of participating countries in formulating export control lists that the participating countries could then adopt in their domestic regulations. The cohesiveness of the global export control regimes has been based on the cornerstones of the consensus-building and list-based standards. The USA established its export control regimes to complement these international export control regimes and has been a strong proponent of requesting countries to adopt the international export control lists into domestic regulations. With the passage of the ECA, the infusion of economic policy considerations such as maintaining the USA’s technological leadership through adding a category of emerging and foundational technology has changed the long-standing export control narrative. Through the changes made to the US ECA, the scope of national security subject to export control regimes has expanded from being focused on military-oriented goods and technology into one that now includes commercial technology. While the changes made through the ECA serve to protect the USA’s technological interests, the statute could also undermine important elements of the global export control regime that the international community has established in the past seventy years post-World War II.


Significance It establishes a comprehensive framework for restricting export of military and dual-use products and technologies on national security grounds or for public policy reasons. It creates a legal basis for mandatory licensing or outright prohibition of the export of products, services or technologies based on their features, their end-users and end-uses, and geographical destinations. Impacts Export controls will help to maintain the international competitiveness of Chinese firms as their technological capabilities advance. Foreign companies may find themselves under investigation in China for acts they perform elsewhere. The law covers transportation, so shipping companies may need to reconsider their routing decisions.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Ben Wagner

Abstract What kinds of politics do export controls entail and whose rights do they enable? The following article will take a critical perspective on the governance challenges associated with export controls of dual-use technologies. After discussing challenges around transparency, the performance of human rights and export control havens, this article will then turn to looking at policy solutions, including audits, transparency and targeted international governance mechanisms. With conclusion, export controls continue to constitute an important policy tool to promote human rights and can be improved considerably to strengthen human rights further.


2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 447-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Luo

After World War II, the non-proliferation of weapons of massive destruction (WMD) and the export controls of conventional weapons and civilian and military dual use technologies have been one of the most important focal point of international cooperation. Many international treaties have been signed and the international organizations have been established to promote these non-proliferation and export control efforts. The industrialized countries and the developing countries of China, India, and Pakistan that possess nuclear weapons and missile technologies have also enacted domestic laws and set up administrative regimes to control these goods and technologies from flowing to other countries or undesirable people. Among these countries, the United States has been the leader strongly advocating non-proliferation of WMD and export controls of civilian and military dual use goods. In fact, the United States has established a very sophisticated export control system to prevent its weapons and technologies from going to the hands of any adversaries. Because the complicities and overlaps of international treaties and domestic laws on this topic, it warrants a research guide for would-be researchers to walk through the maze of international and domestic export control regimes.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Cindy Whang

Abstract Export controls are domestic trade restrictions placed on technologies that have been determined to be important to the national security concerns of a country. In recent years, the policy purpose for maintaining export control regulations have shifted, and how these new export control regulations would interact with new emerging technologies is something that should be analyzed and considered. The passage of the United States (US) Export Control Reform Act (ecra) of 2018 and the proposed regulatory changes for the European Union’s (EU) Council Regulation (ec) No. 428/2009 have shifted the focus of dual-use export controls so that the national security goals of these controls have broadened to include economic security and human rights concerns. This paper argues that the infusion of geoeconomics into US national security considerations and the proposed expansion to include human rights considerations into EU export control regulations are made mutually exclusive of each other and were not made to expand the reach of export controls in a unifying way. Rather, the purpose and structural change to export control regulations serves to create more regulatory barriers on the trade of emerging technology industries that would not only impact the US and the EU, but also their international trading partners.


Author(s):  
Eric L. Hirschhorn ◽  
Brian J. Egan ◽  
Edward J. Krauland

U.S. Export Controls and Economic Sanctions is a must for those who deal with U.S. government export control and economic sanctions regulations. Written as a user’s manual rather than an academic or historical treatise, it covers in considerable detail—but in language that is intelligible to non-lawyers as well as lawyers—the Commerce Department’s controls on exports of commercial, “dual-use” (having both commercial and military utility), and low-level military items, the State Department’s controls on higher-level military items, the Treasury Department’s approximately thirty different economic sanctions programs, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s controls on nuclear-related commodities, and the Energy Department’s restrictions on assistance to foreign nuclear programs. Given the authors’ decades of experience with these regulations, the book not only explains the legal rules but also offers tips—not necessarily reflected in the regulations themselves—about how to interpret the regulations and deal with the regulators.


Subject The impact of the new additions to the Wassenaar Arrangement. Significance The US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is taking public comments on its proposed implementation of the cyber security provisions of the the most recent additions to the Wassenaar Arrangement on arms-export controls. The Wassenaar Arrangement is a multilateral agreement to manage the international trade in conventional arms and certain dual-use goods and technologies to contribute to international stability and prevent human rights abuses. In December 2013, it added two types of cyber security technologies to its control lists -- the first such restriction on the export of commercially-available and widely-used software since the creation of the Arrangement in 1996. Impacts Governments not participating in the Wassenaar Arrangement may turn to alternative suppliers. Using export controls as a proxy for regulating the technology's use may limit research into cyber vulnerabilities. The easily transferable nature of software could undermine the effectiveness of export control regimes.


2002 ◽  
Vol 58 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 205-242
Author(s):  
A. Baskaran

Multilateral export control regimes such as the London Club and Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) aim to prevent the flow of complex dual-use technologies to certain ‘target’ countries. The underlying belief has been that these regimes would be able to delay or cripple strategic weapon programmes in ‘target’ countries. However, little attention has been paid to understand the factors that influence the effectiveness of these regimes. In recent years, the limitations of export controls have become increasingly clear. This paper introduces a conceptual framework and analyses the case of India'S space and missile programmes to trace the factors that determine the effectiveness of export control regimes and to understand why these regimes, particularly the MTCR are increasingly ineffective on certain ‘target’ countries.


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