Get involved with export control legislation review

That was the clear message from the DTI at a recent MTA seminar. The Export Licensing Seminar was organised by MTA for its members to focus on how licensing works, improvements to the system, information on end-users and an introduction to the 2007 Review of Export Control Legislation. The seminar, chaired by Lord O’Neill of Clackmannan, provided an open forum for discussion and a chance to comment on the current system. MTA members welcomed the reduced lead times in approving export licences, however members stressed more needs to be done to ensure that appeals are dealt with swiftly and that other countries follow suit when an application is rejected. Speakers from the DTI outlined plans to improve the current system, introducing a new online licensing system, SPIRE, which provides a secure and largely automated system for submitting export licence applications. John Doddrell, Director of the DTI’s Export Control Organisation described the system as, “simpler, more efficient, faster and better”. He also emphasised that the UK was already a world leader in responsible exports and export control systems, with only 1 per cent of export licence applications being refused last year. MTA Acting Director General, Graham Dewhurst praised the seminar as incredibly useful, “those members that attended found the seminar an excellent opportunity to discover more about the future regulations and have their specific licensing questions answered. The MTA would like to thank the DTI for being open to suggestions and comment from its members and hope that this will open the channels for future dialogue on export licensing developments." Details of the DTI 2007 Review of Export Control Legislation can be found by clicking the DTI link below.