UK Issues General Licence for Exports of Semiconductor and Other Emerging Technologies to Certain Countries

The UK government has issued an updated Open General Export Licence for the Export of Dual-Use items to EU Member States (which also previously covered exports to Iceland and the Channel Islands) (the “OGEL”) to allow export of newly controlled semiconductor and other “emerging” technologies to EU Member States, the United States, Japan, Australia and other specified countries.

The UK has recently expanded its export controls regime to include a number of key emerging technologies, as discussed in our previous update. Following amendments to the UK’s dual-use items list (contained in Schedule 3 of the Export Control Order 2008 (ECO)) on 12 March 2024, the newly controlled items include semiconductor technologies, quantum technologies, cryogenic technologies, additive manufacturing equipment and advanced materials. These amendments came into force on 1 April 2024 and have the effect of prohibiting the export or transfer of these items from the UK to any destination.

The updated OGEL issued on 26 March 2024 permits the export of the newly controlled emerging technology items not only to EU Member States, the Channel Islands and Iceland (countries covered by the previous version of the OEGL), but also to the other Five Eyes nations (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States), Japan (a long-standing ally to the UK), Norway and Switzerland (including Liechtenstein). The OGEL has been available from 1 April 2024, the date on which export controls on the new items came into force. The previous version of the OGEL, which was revoked after 31 March 2024, only covered exports of dual-use items controlled by Annex I of the Retained Dual-Use Regulation. The provisions covering these items have been retained in the new version of the OGEL. Exporters will need to ensure that they register to use the updated OGEL if they wish to rely on it for relevant exports.

Businesses operating in sectors relating to the new items controlled under the ECO should stay up to date with the changing export controls landscape worldwide to ensure that they remain compliant as it continues to evolve.  

If you have any questions or would like to discuss the UK’s expanded export control regime further, please contact the authors of this alert or your usual MoFo contact.

Katy Burgess, London trainee solicitor, contributed to the drafting of this alert.