An importer ordered 40 inspection drones with thermal cameras from a Shenzhen factory. Deposit paid, production finished, then the supplier went quiet on shipping dates. The reason came out six weeks later: the thermal sensor on that model sat above the threshold where China requires an export licence, and nobody at the factory had applied for one. Paid invoice, no goods, customer waiting. This happens more often than buyers expect, because the goods do not look military. They look like tools, but they can be dual-use goods. Dual-use rules do not care what you plan to do with a product, only what it is technically capable of. If you buy anything with a sensor, a radio, encryption, precision machining or a controlled chemical in it, check the control status before you place the order.
What counts as a dual-use good?
A dual-use item is a product, software or technology usable for civilian purposes but also for military ones, or capable of contributing to weapons programmes. The EU and US systems both work from that idea.
Control is set by capability thresholds, not product category: resolution, frame rate, key length, machining tolerance, chemical purity, operating frequency, speed and altitude limits. Two cameras that look identical on a product page can sit on opposite sides of a control line because one runs faster. Ordinary China sourcing checks miss this, because nothing in a quotation tells you the item is controlled.
Which products actually catch importers out?
Weapons parts are not the problem. Buyers get caught by ordinary industrial hardware, so classification belongs in the technical review, next to the certification checks you run when importing electronics into the EU:
- Drones and thermal imaging. On the US Commerce Control List, ECCN 6A003 covers imaging cameras built around focal plane arrays, with carve-outs for some medical and process monitoring uses. Longer range UAVs are controlled separately.
- Encryption. Routers, radios, IoT gateways, secure storage and industrial modems fall under the information security part of both control lists. The US licence exception for encryption items sits at 15 CFR 740.17, with reporting and eligibility conditions.
- Bearings and machine tools. Precision bearings above a certain tolerance grade and multi-axis CNC machines sit in materials processing.
- Laboratory and process equipment: corrosion-resistant reactors, valves, pumps, fermenters, plus peptide synthesisers, added to the EU list in 2025.
- Chemicals and precursors, including reagents sold openly on Chinese B2B platforms.
- GNSS receivers and inertial measurement units, especially any that keep working above set speed or altitude limits.
- Semiconductor and quantum hardware: atomic layer deposition tools, epitaxial deposition systems, EUV masks and pellicles, wafer probers and cryogenic components.
How do the EU rules work?
The EU framework is Regulation (EU) 2021/821. Annex I is the common control list, in ten categories ranging from nuclear and special materials through electronics, computers and information security to sensors, navigation, marine and aerospace. The current version is Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/2003 of 8 September 2025, published on 14 November 2025 and in force from 15 November 2025, which tightened controls on quantum computing, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, advanced computing chips and additive manufacturing.
Here is the part importers miss. The regulation controls exports out of the EU, not imports in, so there is no dual-use import licence for ordinary goods. But you become an exporter the moment you resell outside the EU, take equipment to a trade fair abroad or send a faulty item back to China for repair. Then you need an authorisation from the national competent authority in your member state: an EU general export authorisation, a national one, a global licence or an individual licence.
End-use controls also apply to unlisted items. If your authority tells you, or you are otherwise aware, that goods are destined for a weapons programme or a military end use in an embargoed country, a licence is needed anyway. That is why suppliers and forwarders now ask you to sign an end-use statement. Keep it with your other import documents and check the TARIC entry for your commodity code.
Export control does not ask what you intend to do with the goods, only what the goods are able to do.
How do the US rules work?
In the United States, the Export Administration Regulations are run by the Bureau of Industry and Security. Every item either carries an ECCN on the Commerce Control List or falls into the catch-all category EAR99. The ECCN, the destination, and the reason for control tell you whether a licence is needed and whether a licence exception applies.
Two things matter for buyers outside the US. First, the Entity List: if your supplier or its end customer is listed, EAR-controlled transactions need a licence that is usually refused. BIS adopted a rule in 2025 extending Entity List restrictions to companies owned 50 percent or more by listed parties, then suspended enforcement on 10 November 2025 for one year, through 9 November 2026. It can return, so screen ownership.
Second, US rules follow US-origin goods and technology across borders. If the Chinese product you buy contains US-origin controlled components, re-exporting it may need BIS authorisation even if your company has no US presence. That is separate from the entry work in US customs clearance.
Does your Chinese supplier need an export licence?
Yes, and this is the constraint that stops shipments most often. China’s Export Control Law has been in force since 1 December 2020, and the Regulations on Export Control of Dual-Use Items took effect on 1 December 2024, pulling older regimes into one MOFCOM licensing system.
A Chinese exporter can hold a single licence tied to one end user and valid for a year, or a general licence valid for three years for companies with internal compliance systems. MOFCOM has 45 working days to decide, and exporting without a licence carries fines up to RMB 3 million. It also runs a watch list and a control list of foreign end users that Chinese companies may not supply.
The scope keeps moving. The 2026 dual-use export licence catalogue, issued as MOFCOM and GACC Announcement 2025 No. 91, took effect on 1 January 2026 and added roughly 80 entries, among them tungsten-nickel alloys, samarium, indium-based semiconductor materials and bismuth and tellurium used in infrared detection. Controls announced on gallium, germanium, antimony and superhard materials in December 2024, on seven medium and heavy rare earths in April 2025, and on rare earth processing equipment in October 2025 were partly suspended in November 2025, for periods running into late 2026. Suspended does not mean not repealed.
Before the deposit, ask the supplier in writing whether the item is on the Chinese control list, whether it holds a licence and how long an application takes. A factory that has never exported it will often not know. The mechanics are in our guide to the Chinese export licence.
What happens if you get it wrong?
The mildest outcome is the one above: goods stuck in China, money tied up, no delivery date. It gets worse once you move controlled goods without authorisation.
- In the EU, penalties are set by each member state and are criminal in most of them: fines, prison terms, loss of AEO status.
- In the US, the administrative maximum is 374,474 dollars per violation or twice the transaction value, whichever is greater, as adjusted in January 2025. Criminal penalties under the Export Control Reform Act reach one million dollars and 20 years per violation, and BIS can strip export privileges. Banks and forwarders screen the same lists, so a denial order ends international trading.
How do you check before you order?
- Get the technical datasheet, not the marketing sheet: sensor specifications, frequencies, key lengths, tolerances, purity.
- Ask the supplier in writing for the ECCN and the EU Annex I entry. Treat “not controlled” without a reference number as no answer.
- Do not confuse tariff classification with export classification. Your HTS code gives the duty rate, not the control status.
- Screen the supplier, its owners and your end customer against the Entity List and the Chinese control and watch lists.
- Where the answer is unclear, ask your national licensing authority for a ruling.
Most of this risk is manageable at the contract stage. Put the classification, the licence obligation and the consequences of a refused licence into the purchase agreement instead of finding out later. Make sure to sign a commercial contract with a Chinese company before you send the deposit.
Frequently asked questions about dual-use goods from China
What is a dual-use good?
A dual-use good is any item, software or technology that can be used for civilian purposes but also for military ones or in a weapons programme. Control depends on technical capability, not on what you intend to do with it. In the EU, the list is Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2021/821; in the US, it is the Commerce Control List.
Do I need a licence to import dual-use goods from China?
No. Neither the EU nor the US requires an import licence for ordinary commercial dual-use goods, so bringing them in is not the problem. The licence is needed on the export side, in China. You do need your own export authorisation if you later resell, demonstrate or return the goods outside the EU.
Which everyday products count as dual-use?
Thermal imaging cameras, drones, encryption hardware such as routers and secure storage, precision bearings, multi-axis CNC machines, GNSS and inertial modules, laboratory reactors and some chemical reagents. Semiconductor and quantum equipment was added to the EU list in 2025. Two visually identical products can differ, because control is set by thresholds such as resolution or tolerance.
Does my Chinese supplier need an export licence?
Yes, if the item sits on China’s dual-use control list. China’s Export Control Law has applied since 1 December 2020 and the Regulations on Export Control of Dual-Use Items since 1 December 2024. MOFCOM has 45 working days to decide on an application, and exporting without a licence carries fines of up to RMB 3 million.
What is an ECCN?
An ECCN, or Export Control Classification Number, is the five-character code that identifies an item on the US Commerce Control List, for example 6A003 for certain imaging cameras. The code, the destination country, and the reason for control together tell you whether a licence is required. Items with no ECCN fall under EAR99.
What happens if you export dual-use goods without a licence?
In the US the administrative penalty reaches 374,474 dollars per violation or twice the transaction value, whichever is greater, as adjusted in January 2025. Criminal penalties under the Export Control Reform Act run to one million dollars and 20 years per violation. EU penalties are set nationally and are criminal in most member states.