International Client Alert, August 2006

The Chinese "Catch-All" Saga Continues
Article by Clif Burns

On August 9, the Bureau of Industry and Security ("BIS") announced a series of regional meetings on the Chinese "catch-all" rules in an effort to quell the rising tide of exporter dissent over these proposed rules which were announced by BIS in July. A meeting was conducted in Washington on July 17 at which it became clear that the new "catch-all" proposal remains as problematic as earlier proposals. Meetings were also held on August 21 in Houston and August 22 in La Jolla.

Under the Statement of Understanding on Control of Non-Listed Dual-Use Items¹ adopted by the members of the Wassenaar Arrangement in December 2003, the member states, including the United States, agreed that each member state would adopt so-called catch-all provisions. Specifically, the "catch-all" provisions would require export licenses for shipments of "nonlisted" dual-use items to countries that were subject to a U.N. or regional arms