The Hindu Business Line : ‘Explore opportunities in dual-use product exports’

Chennai, May 22 Business houses should explore opportunities in exporting high technology products meant for ‘dual-use’ — civilian and military purposes — since it is more lucrative.

Similarly, they should deploy foreign technologies to enhance productivity while safeguarding the sovereignty of the country. This was the message at a workshop on ‘Promoting Technology-embedded Trade Regulation’ organised by FICCI along with Centre for International Trade & SecurityUniversity of Georgia, here on Thursday.

Regulations on dual-use gain significance due to the rising concern over use of civilian products and technologies for manufacturing weapons of mass destruction.

Addressing the workshop, the Additional Director General of Foreign Trade, Dr Shyam Agarwal, said of the $150-billion exports from the country the share of dual-use products was less than $15 million. Hence the opportunities were huge. However, it was necessary to understand the sensitiveness of dual-use products and leverage the potential, he said.

The Director General of Foreign Trade has specified a list of Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies (SCOMET); the export of which were either prohibited or permitted only under licence. The grant of licence depends upon the end use of the product and end-user certification. Except for defence-related products, most of the dual-use items were listed in the latest SCOMET list, which would help companies understand the export opportunities, he added.

Mr L.K. Tripathy, Chief Secretary, Tamil Nadu, said that it was necessary to look at opportunities to employ dual-use technologies from overseas to improve food and energy security.

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