Asia: A New Focal Point For Export Compliance

As companies from various sectors grow their presence in Asia, they are increasingly faced with a diverse range of export compliance challenges. In contrast to the EU, which has established a regional export controls regime for dual-use items, countries in Asia each implement unique regulations to control the movement of military and dual-use items.

For companies engaging in activities such manufacturing, sales, distribution, finance and research and development, key considerations for operating in Asia include the following:

Does the country have an export controls regime?

Over the past ten years, and in particular since the adoption in 2004 of UN Resolution 1540, many countries across Asia have adopted export control regulations. However, countries such as Indonesia, for example, have not yet established export controls for dual-use items. In countries like Malaysia, which adopted its STA in 2010, export controls remain a new area of regulation that continues to evolve and change.

Are the lists of controlled items similar to those used in the US or EU?

Several of the Asian jurisdictions with export control regulations (such as Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong) have adopted control lists that are similar in structure to the Wassenaar control lists. While these control lists may, therefore, look familiar to exporters accustomed to US and EU control lists, it is important to note that there may still be important differences, and exporters must classify their goods, software and technology against the local control lists.

In contrast, countries like China and Japan have taken different approaches to defining their control lists. For example, although Japan is a participating state of the Wassenaar Arrangement, controlled items are described across three distinct pieces of legislation using 16 categories and a unique numbering scheme that includes the...