Norway Follows Other Wassenaar States in Publishing New Tech Controls

Norway is adding a new annex to its export control list to cover a set of “critical goods and technologies” that aren’t currently subject to export licensing requirements, including certain advanced semiconductors and quantum computers, according to an unofficial translation of an Oct. 3 notice from the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The new annex, effective Nov. 1, will cover items that “are considered disruptive technologies or emerging technologies that are of such a nature that they should be subject to control,” the ministry said.

The move comes as other European nations, along with the U.S. (see 2409050028) and Canada, introduce their own set of export controls over emerging technologies (see 240620004 and 2407030048). The countries have sought to introduce the controls on their own as Russia remains a member of the Wassenaar Arrangement, the multilateral export control regime for dual-use technologies, and can veto new proposals (see 2405300063).

Norway noted that the “same listings have been introduced by, among others, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain and Great Britain. In order to ensure control over these goods and technologies, it is dependent on as many countries as possible to introduce the same controls to avoid circumvention.”

The country’s new controls will “apply regardless of which country you are seeking to export to," Norway said.