Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — Members of an multilateral export control regime on dual-use items capable of being used to make chemical or biological weapons agreed last month to begin discussions on new controls to prevent illicit exports aided by front companies and intermediaries (see GSN, March 19).

During this year’s annual plenary meeting, held June 7-10 in Paris, the 38 nations comprising of the Australia Group agreed to begin consideration of the issue of “brokering controls.” Such controls would require a person or a company in one country to obtain preapproval from that nation before arranging the transfer of controlled biological- or chemical-related items between entities in other countries.

Such controls are already in place in the United States for munitions and in the event that a person or company knows that an export is intended for use in a WMD program, a U.S. State Department official said today. While Australia Group members “recognize” the growing risks posed by illicit exports facilitated by intermediaries and front companies, the official said, questions still remain on how to implement brokering controls within the national export control systems of the group’s various members. The official also said that brokering controls are likely to be discussed in the future by the members of other multilateral export control regimes, such as the Missile Technology Control Regime, which seeks to coordinate national export controls related to ballistic missile-related items.

Group members also agreed to add five plant pathogens to the group’s common export control list, the first such additions in more than 10 years; and agreed to expand the medical exemptions for one of the toxins listed on the group’s control list. An Australian Group press statement did not detail, though, which plant pathogens were added to the group’s control list, nor did it specify for which toxin were medical exemptions expanded. 

In addition, there was discussion of adding airborne spraying and fogging systems capable of being used to disseminate biological agents in aerosol form to the group’s common control list. While the group made “substantial progress” on such additions, the State Department official said, no final decision was made because of the technical issues surrounding such items, such as their wide variety of civilian uses.

Australia Group members pledge to revise their export control systems based on additions made by the organization. In March, the United States added 14 human and animal pathogens to the U.S. Commerce Control List to reflect the decisions made during last year’s Australia Group plenary meeting (see GSN, June 11, 2003). 

Last month’s meeting saw the addition of five new members to the group — Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Slovenia. In addition, members also discussed new assistance to nonmembers, including “key supplier and transshipping countries,” to improve their national export control systems.