Glossary term
Export Controls
Rules restricting the export of specified goods, software or technology, usually by destination and end use.
Restrictions on exporting particular goods, software or technology, typically for strategic, security or foreign-policy reasons.
Three features catch exporters out. Controls attach to technology and software as well as physical goods, so an email or a download can be a controlled export. They apply to items with ordinary commercial uses, not only to weapons. And they are usually assessed against destination, end user and end use together, so the same item may be freely exportable to one country and licensable to another.