Is My Product Dual-Use? Export Control Check for ECCN, EU, UK, Asia

What dual-use items are and where the lists come from

Dual-use items are goods, software and technology that can be used for both civil and military purposes (Regulation (EU) 2021/821, Article 2). Examples include certain machine tools, lasers, sensors, chemicals, electronic components and encryption. Controls depend on the item, the destination and the end use, and they also cover software and technology sent by email or download, not only physical goods.

Most national lists come from four multilateral regimes: the Wassenaar Arrangement (conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies; 42 participating states at its December 2025 plenary), the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Australia Group (chemical and biological items) and the Missile Technology Control Regime. The regimes agree the lists, each country turns them into law, and some add national controls. The EU, UK and US lists share one code pattern: a category number 0 to 9 and a product group letter A to E (A equipment, B test and production equipment, C materials, D software, E technology), so the same item often has the same code, such as 5A002.

Most everyday consumer goods, such as cosmetics, food, clothing and furniture, are not on these lists. Watch for exceptions. Many devices and apps contain encryption: in the US, mass-market items are usually 5A992.c or 5D992.c, which need a licence mainly for embargoed destinations or restricted parties. Some raw materials are listed even when finished products are not: triethanolamine, used in cosmetics and detergents, is on the Australia Group precursor list (US ECCN 1C350), but the US entry excludes mixtures in which it is a normal ingredient of consumer goods packaged for retail sale for personal use. An HS code never decides whether an item is controlled; it can only flag that it might be. Catch-all rules can also require a licence for an unlisted item when you know, or are told, that it is meant for weapons of mass destruction or military use.

United States: EAR, ECCN and EAR99

The Export Administration Regulations (EAR, 15 CFR Parts 730-774), run by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), apply to items in the US, to US-origin items wherever they are, and to some foreign-made items. Controlled items are on the Commerce Control List (CCL) under a five-character Export Control Classification Number (ECCN): the first character is the category (0 to 9), the second the product group (A to E). An item subject to the EAR but not on the CCL is EAR99. EAR99 items need no licence in most cases, but can still need one for an embargoed destination, a restricted party or a prohibited end use.

BIS lists three ways to classify: ask the manufacturer, producer or developer for the ECCN; self-classify with the CCL; or file a classification request through SNAP-R (15 CFR 748.3). BIS answers classification requests within 14 calendar days and advisory opinions within 30 (15 CFR 750.2).

• Foreign-made goods: under the de minimis rule, items with 25% or less controlled US content by value are generally not subject to the EAR when reexported (10% for Country Groups E:1 and E:2), and some items have no de minimis level (15 CFR 734.4). Foreign direct product rules can also catch some items made abroad from certain US technology or software.
• Parties: the Entity List and other BIS lists restrict named companies. The Affiliates Rule of 29 September 2025, which extended Entity List restrictions to companies 50% or more owned by listed entities, is suspended from 10 November 2025 to 9 November 2026. On 24 September 2026 the US announced that the US-China trade truce would run to 10 January 2027, and US officials reportedly said this covers the rule; check the Federal Register for a formal notice.
• Invoice: for items on the CCL other than EAR99, shipped in tangible form, the commercial invoice must carry the destination control statement, plus the ECCN for 600 series and 9x515 items (15 CFR 758.6). License Exceptions BAG and GFT are exempt.
• Records: keep them 5 years from the export, or from any later known reexport, transfer or other end of the transaction (15 CFR 762.6).

European Union and United Kingdom

Regulation (EU) 2021/821 requires an authorisation to export any item in its Annex I from the EU (Article 3). Annex I is updated every year to follow the regimes. The version in force comes from Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/2003, in force since 15 November 2025, which added items such as quantum computers and more semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The Commission adopted the 2026 update on 14 September 2026; it enters into force when published in the Official Journal after a two-month scrutiny period. Unlisted items can still need a licence under the catch-all (Article 4) and national controls.

Authorisations are individual, global, national general or Union general (Article 12). Union general export authorisations EU001 to EU008 (Annex II) cover set cases; EU001 covers many listed items to Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland including Liechtenstein, the United Kingdom and the United States. Register with or notify your national authority as it requires, before or soon after first use. Some authorities confirm in writing that an item is not listed, such as Germany's BAFA with an Auskunft zur Güterliste valid for two years. On the export declaration, code Y901 shows that an item is not on the dual-use list when its CN code is flagged. Keep records at least five years from the end of the calendar year of export (Article 27).

The UK controls exports under the Export Control Order 2008 and assimilated Regulation (EC) No 428/2009; Northern Ireland applies Regulation (EU) 2021/821. The UK Strategic Export Control Lists, last updated on 16 December 2025, cover military and dual-use items. GOV.UK offers OGEL and goods checker tools, and SPIRE a control list classification service. Since September 2024 most standard individual export licence (SIEL) applications go through the Export Control Joint Unit's LITE system; other applications largely stay on SPIRE for now, and open individual licences (OIELs) were in a private beta on LITE in 2026.

Korea, Japan and China

Each country applies its own list to goods leaving its territory, so a product made in Asia must be checked against the rules of the country it ships from, and against the US rules if it contains US content.

• Korea: strategic items are controlled under the Foreign Trade Act and the Public Notice on Export and Import of Strategic Items, administered by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR). Exporters can self-classify on YESTRADE (yestrade.go.kr) or request a classification from the Korea Security Agency of Trade and Industry (KOSTI), which must be issued within 15 days. A catch-all licence can be needed for an unlisted item when the exporter knows or has reason to suspect a weapons end use.
• Japan: the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act (FEFTA) requires METI permission to export listed goods (Article 48) and to provide listed technology (Article 25). Listed goods are in items 1 to 15 of Appended Table 1 of the Export Trade Control Order, amended with effect from 14 February 2026. Catch-all controls cover other goods and were widened on 9 October 2025 for conventional-arms risks. Exporters classify their own goods and check METI's End User List.
• China: the Export Control Law (in force since 1 December 2020), the Regulations on Export Control of Dual-Use Items and a single Dual-Use Items Export Control List (both since 1 December 2024) apply. MOFCOM decides on licence applications within 45 working days, needs an end-user and end-use certificate, can grant general licences valid up to 3 years, and exporters must keep records at least 5 years.
• China, critical minerals: gallium and germanium items have needed licences since 1 August 2023, and seven medium and heavy rare earths (samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium, yttrium) since 4 April 2025; tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum and indium items were added in 2025. The measures of 9 October 2025 on more rare earths, rare-earth technology, lithium batteries, graphite anodes and superhard materials, including rules reaching foreign-made products with Chinese rare-earth content, are suspended from 7 November 2025 to 10 November 2026 (MOFCOM Announcement No. 70 of 2025). The ban on gallium, germanium, antimony and superhard material exports to the US is suspended until 27 November 2026, but dual-use exports to US military users stay banned. The truce extension announced on 24 September 2026 may change these dates; check MOFCOM.

Sanctions screening is a separate check

Export controls ask what the item is, where it goes and what it will be used for. Sanctions ask who you are dealing with and whether a country or sector is under restrictive measures. A product that needs no export licence can still be banned for a sanctioned buyer, bank or country, so run both checks on every order and every party: buyer, consignee, end user, forwarder and banks.

• US: the Consolidated Screening List on trade.gov combines export screening lists of the Departments of Commerce, State and the Treasury, including the Entity List and OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. A possible match calls for more due diligence and a check of the official list, not an automatic refusal. Under OFAC's 50 Percent Rule, an entity 50% or more owned by blocked persons is itself blocked.
• EU: the consolidated list of persons, groups and entities subject to EU financial sanctions. For some goods, including common high priority items, EU exporters must put a 'no re-export to Russia' clause in contracts with buyers outside the partner countries listed in Annex VIII (Article 12g of Regulation (EU) No 833/2014).
• UK: the UK Sanctions List has been the only source of UK sanctions designations since the OFSI Consolidated List closed on 28 January 2026. A 'no Russia' clause is not required there but can support due diligence.
• Also check the UN Security Council Consolidated List and your own country's lists, such as YESTRADE's restricted end-user search in Korea or METI's End User List in Japan.

Red flags, diversion and penalties

Diversion means goods going to a user or country other than the one declared. When a red flag appears, ask questions and resolve it before shipping, or do not ship. BIS treats a policy of avoiding bad information as an aggravating factor. Penalties differ by country but can include fines, seizure of goods, loss of export privileges and, for deliberate violations, prison.

BIS's 'Know Your Customer' guidance (Supplement No. 3 to 15 CFR Part 732) lists warning signs that are useful in any country:

• The customer is reluctant to give end-use information, or is evasive about whether the goods are for domestic use, export or reexport.
• The product does not fit the buyer's business, such as a small bakery ordering sophisticated lasers.
• The customer has little or no business background, or does not know the product's performance but still wants it.
• The customer offers cash for an expensive item when the terms call for financing, or declines routine installation, training or maintenance.
• A freight forwarder is named as the final destination, delivery dates are vague, or the route or packaging does not fit the product and destination.