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Instro: Arms Trade

Asked by Jayne KirkhamLabour (Co-op)Department for Business and TradeTabled Answered 24 October 2025UIN 83578

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has exempted the company Instro Precision UK from applying for arms export licences for the sale of targeting equipment.

Answered by Chris Bryant

The basis on which export licences are required for different military and dual-use goods is set out in the Export Control Order 2008. Export licence applications for all controlled goods are rigorously assessed on a case-by-case basis against strict assessment criteria, the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria.

The Export Control Joint Unit does not issue exemptions from requirements for export licences except those specifically prescribed in law. Where individual licence applications include items that are not covered by the 2008 Order, exporters can be informed that no licence is required.

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