United States liberalises export of high technology products to Finland

Following Finland’s reform of the Act on Export Control of Dual-Use Items, the United States has added Finland to the list of IEC eligible destinations from 17 September 2024.

Finland’s new Act on the Export Control of Dual-Use Items (500/2024) came into force on 15 September 2024. This Act includes a national control list, which contains items necessary for the development of quantum computing, semiconductor manufacturing equipment and materials technology. The national control list enables managing risks that such items end up in undesirable use and demonstrates Finland’s commitment to responsible export control policies. It will also ensure that Finland, in turn, has access to high technology from countries that control similar items.

On 6 September 2024, the United States imposed export controls on items that correspond to the items on Finland’s national control list. At the same time, the United States established license exceptions for these items for countries that implement comparable controls (License Exception Implemented Export Controls, IEC). Finland was added to the list of IEC eligible destinations as of 17 September 2024. This will liberalise the export of items from the United States to Finland.

To facilitate export procedures, Finland is creating a national general export authorisation for items on the national control list. This will allow export of items to certain countries by way of notification to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The United States is among the countries the Ministry is proposing to include on the list of countries covered by the national general export authorisation. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs published a consultation on the draft decision on a national general export authorisation on 20 September 2024.