On 7 October 2020, the European Commission adopted the revised Annex I (the “Dual-Use List“) to Regulation 428/2009 (the “Dual-Use Regulation“) (see here). The new Dual-Use List came into force on 15 December 2020.
The Dual-Use List is refreshed on an annual basis to take into account updates to international non-proliferation regimes and export control arrangements. The latest updates reflect changes from reviews carried out by the Wassenaar Arrangement in particular, and also from reviews by the Australia Group, the Missile Technology Control Regime and the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
For further information on the new Dual-Use List, see the Update Notice and Comprehensive Change Note Summary.
Key changes to note including the following:
Cyber Security Controls
- New entry in respect of systems, equipment and components for defeating, weakening or bypassing “information security” (5A004.b) – including a Technical Note and two related decontrol notes.
- New entry for certain “software” specially designed for monitoring or analysis by law enforcement (5D001.e.1., .2.) including new Technical Notes 1 and 2, and a related decontrol note.
Cryptographic Items Decontrols
- A number of important amendments have been made to the cryptography decontrols in 5A002, as follows:
- 5A002.a., Note 2.f. – rewritten to cover items “where the “information security” functionality is limited to wireless “personal area network” functionality, implementing only published or commercial cryptographic standards”.
- 5A002.a., Note 2.h. – entry amended to include “gateways”, where “the “information security” functionality is limited to the tasks of “Operations, Administration or Maintenance” implementing only published or commercial cryptographic standards”.
- 5A002.a. – entry amended to state that control applies where the cryptographic capability “is usable, has been activated, or can be activated by any means other than secure “cryptographic activation””.
Electronics
- New Technical Note added for the control on computational lithography software (3D003), which defines computational lithography as “the use of computer modelling to predict, correct, optimise and verify imaging performance of the lithography process over a range of patterns, processes, and system conditions”.
Pharmaceutical
- Inclusion of an explicit decontrol note for “vaccines” in 1C353, and the addition of “Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus” as a new virus in IC351.
Machine Tools
- 2B001 – new Note 4 added, stating that machine tools “having an additive manufacturing capability in addition to a turning, milling or grinding capability” must be evaluated against each applicable control entry.
Other Key Changes
- New control entry for “sub-orbital craft” (9A004): This is defined as a craft having an enclosure designed for the transport of people or cargo which is designed to operate above the stratosphere, perform a non-orbital trajectory, and land back on Earth with the people or cargo intact.
- Aerospace: Amendment to the entry for turbojet and turbofan engine (9A101.a.1. – .a.2.) and new Technical Note for clarification on determination of specific fuel consumption (9A101.a. – Technical Note 2) and amendment to the control entry in respect of “fan blades” (9E003.a.11).
- Chemicals: New entries for 24 chemicals, including Novichok nerve agent precursors (1C350.66. to 1C350.89).
