Fundamentals of Export Control

Switzerland is committed at international level to preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the uncontrolled accumulation of conventional military equipment. The control of sensitive goods, including technology and software, is an important part of this non-proliferation strategy. In addition, for reasons of foreign security policy, the export, import and transit of certain goods from or to certain countries or from/to certain persons/groups of persons can be completely prohibited (sanctions and embargoes). The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) regulates and administers Swiss sanctions, embargoes and export controls.

Sanctions and embargoes prohibit specific activities (e.g. import/export, services or entry and transit) with certain countries and/or persons/groups of persons. The catalogue of prohibited activities varies depending on the country concerned and can be limited to a few specific goods or services (e.g. bans on armaments, surveillance equipment and attendance at specific courses of study, such as advanced physics, and scientific cooperation), or it can be very comprehensive.

Russia and Belarus, for example, are subject to very extensive sanctions and embargoes (around 30 bans with further details). An overview of all  sanctions and embargoes can be found in the SECO list of countries and organisations (only available in German, French and Italian). Natural persons or legal entities listed as sanctioned are generally subject to asset freezes and bans on making funds available. No funds or other economic resources may be made available to them, either directly or indirectly. SECO offers a tool that can be used to search for sanctioned persons, companies and organizations on a consolidated basis:Search engine.

The goods control legislation (Goods Control Act and Goods Control Ordinance), together with sanctions and embargoes, forms the basis for export controls. This primarily regulates the cross-border exchange of goods with both civilian and military use (dual-use goods) and war materials. This applies to products, technologies (information and knowledge) and software (collectively referred to as goods).

Goods included in the goods control lists are subject to SECO licensing requirements  in the event of export from Switzerland. If the export includes US goods or goods with a certain percentage of US components or which were manufactured using sensitive US technology or software, US licenses may also be required. These are issued by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS).

In foreign trade law, extraterritoriality means that a state can apply and enforce its law to matters and persons outside its national borders.

USA

The US regulations on sanctions, embargoes and export controls are extraterritorial in nature. They are applied worldwide if certain connecting criteria are met:

• US persons: all US citizens, all persons residing in the USA and persons with a US residence permit (e.g. green card), regardless of their location; all natural and legal persons who are resident or domiciled in the USA; and all companies domiciled in the USA and their foreign branches.
• US products, including products that are at least 10% or 25% based on products of US origin (e.g. a drone that uses US software for control).

EU and UK

EU sanctions must be complied with by all EU citizens and legal entities incorporated or registered under the law of an EU Member State - regardless of their country of residence or domicile. The same applies to UK citizens and legal entities with regard to UK sanctions.

Academic freedom does not exempt anyone from complying with sanctions, embargoes and control regulations for dual-use and military goods. The aim of export control is not to restrict research or censor its results, but solely to prevent its misuse. This creates a secure basis for the desired freedom of research and the promotion of innovation of new technologies in the individual research groups.

Violations of sanctions, embargoes and export control regulations can result in high fines or even imprisonment for natural persons and high fines for universities and legal entities, as well as a corresponding loss of reputation.

Caution!

Neither a voluntary commitment by scientific institutions such as universities to conduct research exclusively for civilian purposes (civilian clause) nor freedom of research exempts them from compliance with export control regulations, sanctions and embargoes! Personal motivation, the origin of the research funding or the purpose of the research are also irrelevant in this context. The more innovative the research, the more important it is to consider possible uses in connection with weapons of mass destruction or military equipment.