1 / 4

The development of the draft is conditioned by the necessity to improve the legal framework for the export of dual-purpose goods, their transit through the RA territory, the transfer of dual- purpose information and the results of intellectual activity, and to clarify the powers and duties of the Government. The RA Deputy Minister of Economy Narek Teryan said this.

The draft law on Making Amendment and Addendum to the Law on Export of Dual-Purpose Goods, Their Transit through the Republic of Armenia, as well as Control over Transfer of Dual- Purpose Information and Results of Intellectual Activity was debated in the first reading at the NA sitting on September 11.

The draft proposed to establish a provision according to which the procedure for conducting professional examination of controlled goods and controlled intangible assets will be determined by the RA Government. The mentioned provision will also serve as an authorizing legislative norm for the improvement of the legal regulations regarding the sector. According to Narek Teryan, there are controlled products that can be used for military purposes, and in this sense, there is a need to control these processes and exclude the possible risks associated with using these products for military purposes.

The member of the RA NA Armenia Faction Artur Khachatryan inquired what share the re-export of dual-purpose goods has in the export. Narek Teryan answered that it is not a significant number. In response to the question whether Armenia has had certain problems with the re-export of dual-purpose goods recently, the Deputy Minister of Economy said. “Since the situation can change very quickly, in our opinion, it is necessary to be more flexible, and if some amendments are to be made, the Government should be authorized to make those amendments. “In general, it is accepted in international practice, and many countries have such norms. Companies selling dual-purpose products have an ‘End User Certificate’ in the documents. We talked about this back in 2018-2019, from the viewpoint of using, producing and exporting such international technologies, there is a problem of having a more reliable and transparent partner”, the NA Vice President Hakob Arshakyan explained, welcoming the Ministry of Economy for coming up with such a legislative initiative.

According to the Deputy Chair of the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs Babken Tunyan, with the proposed amendment, the Government’s toolkit becomes more flexible, and by insuring against certain risks, strict control is established in case of dual-purpose goods.

The Deputy Chair of the Committee added that the draft was endorsed in the Committee.