Export control refers to a number of laws and regulations that have a common objective: preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), human rights violations and terrorist activities.
This means that, unless a specific authorisation (export licence) is granted by the competent authorities, the export of certain tangible goods (e.g. a prototype) or intangible goods (e.g. know-how) is prohibited for reasons of national or international security.
The competent authorities are the domestic local authorities.
For UCLouvain: the Walloon Government Arms Licensing Department.
In addition, when US content is included in the export, a re-export licence (see question 11) from the US Bureau of Industry and Security may be necessary.
A dual-use good refers to any item such as equipment, software or technology that has both a commercial and a military application.
These items are listed in the Wassenaar Arrangement. For the European Union, the Wassenaar Arrangement has been transposed into REGULATION (EU) 2021/821 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 20 May 2021 setting up a Union regime for the control of exports, brokering, technical assistance, transit and transfers of dual-use items (recast).
The term “exportation” is defined very broadly: any oral, written, electronic or visual disclosure, or shipment, transfer or transmission of products, technologies, information, technical data, software codes and assistance.
An export licence is required to export a product and/or technology (related to the product) outside the European Union:
An export licence is required to export products and/or technologies (related to these products) within the European Union listed in Annex IV of Regulation (EU) 2021/821).
Companies and individuals who have breached export control laws are blacklisted. Such companies and individuals are denied some or all commercial privileges. It is forbidden to enter into transactions with them.
Consequently, it is necessary to check as extensively as possible each collaboration partner/institution. If in doubt, we strongly recommend that you contact the relevant authorities.
There is no automatic exemption for academics and researchers and their work.
There is no automatic exemption for academics and researchers and their work.
Software and technology (but not goods) on the dual-use control list may be “decontrolled” and therefore exempt from export licensing, if the dual-use item is in the public domain or is used for basic research.
None of these exemptions apply in the event of end-use issues (i.e. use for military purposes).
Basic research is defined as “basic and applied research in science and engineering, the results of which are generally published and widely shared within the scientific community”. Technology readiness levels (TRLs) 1 and 2 are considered “basic research”.
Results of industrial research and development, design, production and use of a product that are limited to an exclusive use do not qualify for the basic research exemption. These results are subject to export control regulations.
In addition, if there are contractual restrictions on the dissemination of research results – for example, restrictions that require approval prior to publication or generally prevent results from being publicly available – such restrictions exclude the basic research exemption and thus export control regulations apply.
You should also be aware that research involving foreign nationals may be subject to export control regulations.
An export licence is required prior to export.
When negotiating a contract (collaboration, research, etc.), you must always assess the risk(s) associated with the “export” that will take place. The following questions should be answered:
If the answers to the above questions show that an export licence is required, you should be aware that obtaining a licence generally takes a long time (currently one to two months or more) and the application may be refused!
Export controls are compulsory.
This means that it is impossible to avoid them by means of contractual clauses. It also means that violating these laws is a violation of public policy decisions.
Consequently, the penalties for violating export control laws and regulations are severe and may be civil and/or criminal.
More important, UCLouvain’s reputation could be seriously damaged if we fail to comply with these regulations.
| Destination | An export licence is required for: |
| Within the EU |
|
| Outside the EU |
|
| To Russia | |
| To China | |
| Embargoed countries |
|
The US Department of Commerce also regulates re-exports of “dual-use” items through its Export Administration Regulations (EAR).
If you are outside the United States and wish to export or re-export an item that is of US origin or has a US connection, your product may require a licence from the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS).
A re-export is the shipment or transmission of an item subject to EAR from one foreign country (i.e. a country other than the United States) to another foreign country.
A re-export also occurs when there is a “release” of technology or software (source code) subject to EAR in a foreign country to a national of another foreign country (deemed re-export).
Your article is subject to EAR if it:
If you need help with export control requirements, please contact: exportcontrol@uclouvain.be.