Trade & Customs - Latvia

On April 26 2007 Parliament passed the draft Law on Turnover of Goods of Strategic Significance at the first reading. Its aim is to ensure the controlled turnover of goods with strategic significance in accordance with the national and international interests of Latvia, and to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, as well as to prevent the threat of international terrorism.

The draft law supplements the existing laws and regulations on the turnover of goods with strategic significance. For example, it establishes (i) the competence of a control committee on goods with strategic significance with respect to the evaluation of licence applications and assignments for the examination of goods, and (ii) a procedure for examination of goods and the performance of goods identification.

In the draft law 'goods of strategic significance' are defined according to the following list, as included in EU Regulation 1334/2000 and EU List 2005/C127/01, as systems and equipment, including their:

• elements;
• materials;
• chemical substances;
• items;
• software;
• technology; and
• services.

In order to import or transit any of the goods included in the list through the territory of Latvia, it will be necessary to obtain a permit issued by the Ministry of Defence. Special requirements have been established in the draft law regarding the recipients of such permits (whether individual merchants or commercial companies and their employees). These include requirements that employees must:

• be citizens of Latvia, an EU member state or of the European Economic Area;
• be a minimum age of 21; and
• not have a criminal record.

International Law Office