For effective and efficient export controls – Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control take further measures to speed up licensing procedures

Together with the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action will introduce in the near future further measures to accelerate and optimise procedures relating to export controls.

Sven Giegold, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, said: “We are taking steps to ensure effective export controls with leaner and more targeted procedures without lowering the screening standards. This will enable us to concentrate more of our control resources on the essential cases. By making the procedures easier, we are helping to speed up the issuing of licences and are thus strengthening the general acceptance of the export control system. We will continue along this path. The excessively long export control procedures – caused by the necessary sanctions and the measures to tackle the energy crisis – must become shorter again.”

The instrument of the General Authorisation is adapted and extended. Also, the decision-making powers of the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control are increased, and the reporting requirements for the exporters reduced.

General Authorisations are generalised export licences for goods which can be used by exporters without the need to apply to the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control for a licence. They cover the export to selected countries of selected goods which are non-critical but subject to a licence. This possibility will now be available for a large number of additional export procedures.

The Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control already has substantial, clearly defined decision-making powers in the field of export control which it can exercise as it issues export licences without the involvement of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. These powers are now extended further in order to simplify and shorten the licensing procedures.

This second package of measures supplements similar procedural improvements that entered into force on 1 September 2023.

Background to the measures:

In the field of military equipment, the intention is to extend the group of countries covered by General Authorisation no. 33 to include Singapore. Changes are also envisaged in General Authorisation no. 19 (extension of the group of products to include military ground vehicles in certain case groups and to extend the group of countries), General Authorisation no. 23 (waiving of the need for an original licence for re-exports and re-transfers to certain countries), General Authorisation no. 25 (extension of case groups for particularly trusted recipients) and General Authorisation no. 26 (extension of the preferential case groups). Also, it is planned to introduce a new General Authorisation for the delivery of spare parts worth up to 25% of the value of the main product for which a licence has been issued by the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control for export or transfer to certain countries.

In the field of dual-use goods, General Authorisation no. 37 is to include Brazil as an additional country of destination. Further to this, there are extensions to General Authorisation no. 13 (new case groups for particularly trusted recipients, exports of dental milling machines for dental surgery purposes to certain countries), General Authorisation no. 14 (extension to include continuous mixers / extruders apart from machines with protection against explosions) and General Authorisation no. 17 (extension to include condensers). Two new General Authorisations are to simplify the delivery of spare parts worth up to 25% of the value of the main product for which an export licence has been issued by the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control to all countries except arms embargo countries and the export of certain chemicals to India (in line with the existing EU006 General Export Authorisation).

Also, reporting requirements under the General Authorisations have already been scaled back with effect of 11 December 2023 in the interest of bureaucracy reduction.

Further details of the new measures will be published in the near future by the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control.