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Arms Trade: Export Controls

Asked by Iqbal MohamedIndependentDepartment for Business and TradeTabled Answered 20 April 2026UIN 126014

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has imposed export controls on any drone engine manufacturers to on the basis they may be in breach of the UK’s export control criteria and international law.

Answered by Chris Bryant

Any exporter seeking to export controlled items is subject to the UK’s Export Control regime as established under the Export Control Act 2002. All applications for export licences are assessed against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, which include consideration of international law.

The export of goods in contravention of our licensing controls is a serious offence – in recent months a company director received a substantial prison sentence for attempting to export military equipment without a licence, following a successful prosecution by HMRC.

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