Refusal of China-Destined Export Licensing More Than Doubles Under Tighter Rules

The refusal rate for China licenses was over four times the average rate after China was added to the list of destinations subject to an arms embargo.

Shipping containers pictured at the Port of Felixstowe in Suffolk, England, on Aug. 21, 2022. Joe Giddens/PA Media

The number of licence refusals for exports to China has more than doubled in 2022 because of the UK’s tightened control over goods and tech with military applications, a minister has said on Wednesday.

Rosemary Pratt, director of the UK’s Export Control Joint Unit, told a defence exports conference in London that the increase was “largely” because of an update to the military end-use (MEU) export control rules, which she said had a “a big impact” on exports to China.