A new configuration of strategic trade control regimes?

editorial reviewedIn light of the recent geopolitical developments and the ensuing challenges to strategic trade controls, as well as the discussions that have emerged on a new configuration of strategic trade control regimes, the Chaudfontaine Group explored the potential consequences of the ongoing geopolitical transformations and fragmentations on the future of the multilateral export control regimes in the medium term. This publication is a synopsis of the discussion of the thirteenth Chaudfontaine Group Meeting, which took place in Chaudfontaine (Belgium) on 1-3 October 2023 and was funded by the European Commission

Supporting the Additional Protocol declarations on nuclear research and technology by the JRC TIM DU platform

peer reviewedResearch subject to dual-use trade controls may play an important role in proliferation programmes because the exchanges among research entities are traditionally open and prone to be exploited by third countries’ illicit developments. For these reasons, apart from information “in the public domain” or “basic scientific research”, transfers of nuclear technology are subject to export authorisation requirements and government-to-government assurances like the export of tangible goods, as specified by the Nuclear Suppliers Group’s guidelines and national export control laws. Also the requirements of the Model Additional Protocol to the Agreement(s) between States and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the Application of Safeguards include declarations about national research and development activities related to the nuclear fuel cycle, but do not require declarations of technology transfers to third countries. The European Commission JRC, in collaboration with Liege University, has developed the Tools for Innovation Monitoring Dual-use (TIM DU) platform that can facilitate the identification of entities publishing research with a dual-use potential in the various countries. Together with many dual-use goods and emerging technologies, TIM DU maps nuclear-fuel cycle activities’ results included in scientific abstracts, patents, and EU-funded projects, allowing analysts to gather lists of documents, geographical distributions, collaborations, and authors related to these activities. These results can help the national authorities submitting declarations to IAEA in accordance with Additional Protocol’s Article 2.a, both to identify also previously unknown national research actors and their collaboration networks, as well as to raise the awareness of national research entities about potential sensitivities with external collaborators. The IAEA could also use TIM DU to support the verification of the completeness and correctness of the declarations concerning nuclear fuel cycle research

How the new EU Dual-Use Regulation could benefit third countries?

peer reviewedEuropean Union P2P Programme on Export Control of Dual-use Goods Export Control - Chaudfontaine Grou

TIM Dual-Use platform: Case study of US-listed Chinese entities with proliferation concerns

TIM Dual-Use is a data-mining tool based on open source data which has been developed by the European Commission Joint Research Centre in collaboration with the European Studies Unit of the University of Liège in order to map potentially dual-use technologies transfers, which might take the form of scientific publications, R&D projects or co-patenting. TIM Dual-Use functioning and main features are illustrated through the case study of US listed Chinese research organisations, highlighting the civil-military fusion going on in China

Detecting Potentially Sensitive Technology Transfers: TIM Dual-Use as a risk assessment tool. Case study China-EU

TIM Dual-Use is an helpful data-mining tool which can assist, inter alia, research institutes in the risk assessment process for the development or the implementation of the Internal Compliance Programme, with the final purpose of preventing the transfer of sensitive technologies, such as research activities involving dual-use items, which might contribute to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

Monitoring Emerging Technologies Through TIM Dual-Use: The case of 3D printing technology

Physical goods are not the only items subject to strategic trade controls. Also technology, which might take the form of knowledge, technical assistance, or technical data such as digital build files, when transferred it is submitted to previous export authorization. It is the technology which allows a country to indigenize the production of dual-use sensitive material and become autonomous. That is why it is so important to monitor and when appropriate to prevent technology transfers. As emerging technology, 3D printing and more generally additive manufacturing machine tools are not controlled as such. However, some export controls apply to some production equipment and key parts (e.g. specific high-powered lasers and metallic powders). The case-study highlighted the rapid evolution of this technology and how the TIM Dual-Use platform may help monitoring technological trends and countries/organisations capacities

Effects of thermal treatment on the structure of Eu:YAG nanopowder

Eu:YAG nanopowder precursors were obtained by co-precipitation of aluminium, yttrium and europium nitrates solution with ammonia. The hydroxides precursors were calcined at different temperatures from 900 to 1200°C as a function of holding time (1, 2 and 6 hours). The presence of Eu3+ ions in the matrix was confirmed by Energy Dispersive X-rays analysis. X-Ray Diffraction investigation by the Rietveld method shows that the sample treated at 900°C for 1 hour is essentially the garnet phase with the minor presence of hexagonal and monoclinic metastable phases. The Eu3+ ions are incorporated into the garnet phase, as is suggested by the lattice parameter value being larger than that in literature data (homogeneous strain). For the sample treated at 900°C for 1 hour, electron microscopy observations showed agglomerates of spherical particles of mean size about 50 nm. At higher temperature treatments and for longer holding times the minority hexagonal and monoclinic phases totally disappeared. However, the lattice parameters of the cubic garnet phase gradually decreased with temperature, suggesting an expulsion of Eu3+ ions from the solid solution. Simultaneous with this, it was noted that the lattice strain reached a maximum value, but to later decrease, due to the vacancies created by the Eu species initially migrating to the surface of the coherent domains of diffraction. The lattice strain definitely decreased upon more drastic thermal treatments. Meanwhile, FEG-SEM and TEM observations on the same samples confirmed the growth of the garnet particles as a function of the thermal treatment

Co-precipitation synthesis of neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium oxides nanopowders: quantitative phase investigation as a function of joint isothermal treatment conditions and neodymium content.

Neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium nanopowders with nominal Nd:Y:Al ratio equal to X:3-X:5 (where X = 0, 0.006, 0.012, 0.024, 0.048, 0.081, 0.096, 0.171, 0.192, 0.384, 0.540 and 0.720) were prepared by the co-precipitation method and subjected to five cumulative stages of isothermal treatment in the temperature range from 900 to 1050 °C. The phase evolution of the oxides were investigated quantitatively by the X-ray powder diffraction approach using the Rietveld method of analysis. An almost single phase cubic garnet structure was attained at temperatures as low as 900 °C for specimens with neodymium loading less than ca. 6 at.% with respect to total (Nd + Y) atoms. Isothermal treatments of the powders up to 1050 °C remove the hexagonal YAlO3 metastable phase and maximize the amount of the garnet phase. However, for neodymium loading higher than ca. 6 at.%, the garnet structure remains substantially affected by the presence of monoclinic Y4Al2O9 and orthorhombic distorted perovskite-like YAlO3 phases

Mapping of dual-use related intangible technology transfers in EUP2P partner countries and other third countries through "TIM Dual-Use"

Mapping of Dual-Use related ITTs in EUP2P partner countries and other third countries through “TIM Dual-Use