Guidance on Catch-All Controls

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their means of delivery poses a threat to regional and global stability. A wide range of industrial items and materials can assist WMD programs and would-be proliferators. However, in order to limit the burdens on exporters, only the most critical items appear on the National Control List of Dual-Use Items and Technology and automatically require a license when subject to cross-border trade.

The effectiveness of strategic trade controls around the world has made it harder for proliferators to acquire controlled items. Therefore, proliferators often seek to evade controls on items that appear on national control lists by obtaining less sophisticated, unlisted items that can still make meaningful contributions to WMD and their means of delivery.

In order to impede the proliferation of sensitive items, the international community has focused on the end-user – the party to whom an item is to be shipped – and the end-use – the item’s intended purpose. In particular, governments are concerned about whether items are destined to be used for WMD or conventional military purposes. Such catch–all controls require a person to obtain a license to export, transit, transship, or provide related services involving unlisted items when there is reason to believe such items are intended for a WMD-related end-use or end-user or for a military end-use in an embargoed destination.

End-use catch-all controls apply to:

• Non-listed dual-use items that are or may be intended, fully or partially, for use in connection with development, production, handling, operation, maintenance, storage, identification, detection or dissemination of chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, or the development, production, maintenance, or storage of the means for their delivery;
• Non-listed dual-use items that are or may be intended for use with military equipment in an embargoed destination, which is decided by a common position or joint action adopted by the European Council; decided by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe; or imposed by a binding resolution of the UN Security Council.

The control applies to any export, transit, transshipment, or provision of related services involving an entity located in such destinations, including purchasers, consignees, and end-users. This control applies when the embargoed destination is the ultimate destination of the equipment to be put to a military end-use, not just the immediate destination of the dual-use items.

The catch-all control is invoked in either of the following circumstances:

• If the Ministry informs you that a specific transaction is subject to a license requirement because the non-listed items involved are or may be intended, fully or partially, for use in connection with WMD, their means of delivery, or for a military end-use in an embargoed destination.
• If you are aware that the proposed export, transit, transshipment of non-listed goods, or provision of related service is or may be intended for any of the uses described above. In such cases, you must inform the Ministry, which will decide whether you must apply for a license and inform you accordingly. Thus, the entrepreneur must seek information about any risks related to the transaction and collect information about the end-user and the end-use of the product in the form of end-use/end-user documentation.

Things to Look for in a Transaction

Use this check list of “red flags” as indicators of end-use/end-user concerns:

• The customer or purchasing agent is reluctant to offer information about the end-use of the item.
• The customer is reluctant to provide clear answers to commercial or technical questions that are normal in routine negotiations.
• An unconvincing explanation is given as to why items are required, in view of the customer’s normal business or the technical sophistication of the items, such as an order for sophisticated computers for a small bakery.
• The item ordered is incompatible with the technical level of the country to which it is being shipped, such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment being shipped to a country that has no electronics industry.
• Unusually favorable payment terms such as higher price and/or lump-sum cash payment are offered.
• The customer has little or no business background.
• The customer is unfamiliar with the product’s performance characteristics but still wants the product.
• Routine installation, training, or maintenance services are declined by the customer.
• Delivery dates are vague, or deliveries are planned for out of the way destinations.
• A freight forwarding firm is listed as the product’s final destination.
• Unusual shipping, packaging, or labeling arrangements are requested
• When questioned, the buyer is evasive and especially unclear about whether the purchased product is for domestic use, export, or re-export.
• The customer is new to you, and your knowledge about him/her is incomplete
• The installation site is an area under strict security control or is an area to which access is severely restricted, or is unusual in view of the type of equipment being installed
• There are unusual requirements for excessive confidentiality about final destinations, or customers, or specifications of items
• There are requests for excessive spare parts or lack of interest in any spare parts
• The dealer you are selling to is new to you, or has been evasive about customers
• The customer or end user is a military or government research body
• The order itself is unusual in any way e.g. the quantity or performance capabilities of the goods ordered significantly exceed, without satisfactory explanation, the amount or performance normally required for the stated end use.

If you have reason to believe a violation is taking place or has occurred, you may report it to the Ministry by calling +383 (0) 38 200 36 626 or sending an e-mail to zana.kotorri@rks-gov.net, behram.mazreku@rks-gov.net.

License Application

If your transaction with non-listed items is made subject to a license requirement under catch-all controls, then the Ministry usually will inform you by letter, fax, e-mail, or telephone.

The license application will be submitted under the regular procedure (see Strategic Trade Licensing). In light of the information you provide or any other information available, the Commission for Control of Trade in Strategic Goods will consider whether a license should be granted.

This assessment is based on a range of considerations, including:

• Does the end-user country definitely, probably, or possibly have a WMD or delivery system program?
• Are the items potentially of high, medium, or low utility in relation to any WMD program in the end-user country?
• Are the items to be incorporated into a military item on the National Military Control List, for its development, production, or maintenance, or for use in a plant for producing it? And is the destination subject to an arms embargo decided by a common position or joint action adopted by the European Union, a decision of the OSCE, or an arms embargo imposed by a binding resolution of the UN Security Council?
• Are the items intended for use as parts or components of military items listed in the National Military Control List that have been exported from Kosovo without authorization, whatever the destination?
• Are the items relevant to identified procurement requirements of a WMD program, either in the destination country or in another country to which the items may be transferred from the destination country?
• Are the exporter, the end-user, or any third parties or intermediaries to the transaction known to be of concern?
• Are there diversion concerns in relation to any of the parties?
• Is the stated end-use credible?

Goods Commonly Subject to Catch-All Controls

Any goods potentially could be of concern, but the goods that are often denied for export under the catch-all control tend to be those which, at a higher level of technical specification, would appear on the National Control List of Dual-Use Items and Technology.

Goods that are most commonly subject to end-use catch-all controls are:

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