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Starting January 1, 2023, exports of strategic goods will no longer be allowed without authorization by the Strategic Trade Management Office
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STMO urged all entities exporting strategic goods to register and apply for authorization before engaging in the regulated activity
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STMO Memorandum Circular No. 20-26 provides the guidelines on export authorization
Starting January 1, 2023, exports of strategic goods without authorization by the Department of Trade and Industry-Strategic Trade Management Office (DTI-STMO) will no longer be allowed.
In an announcement dated August 8, STMO urged all entities engaged in exporting strategic goods to register and apply for authorization before they carry out any regulated business activity.
Applicants should take into consideration the processing time prescribed by the Strategic Trade Management Act (STMA) and its implementing rules and regulations.
“Failure to comply with the prescribed authorization requirements will lead to the imposition of administrative or criminal penalties under the STMA,” STMO stated.
Authorization prior to the export, import, re-export, and provision of related services is required under Republic Act No. 10697 (An Act Preventing the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction [WMD] by Managing the Trade in Strategic Goods, the Provision of Related Service, and for Other Purposes), or the STMA, the announcement said.
The STMA was signed into law in 2016 to comply with United Nations Security Council Resolution No. 1540.
The UN resolution “imposes binding obligations on all states to adopt legislation to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, and their means of delivery, and establish appropriate domestic controls over related materials to prevent their illicit trafficking.”
Strategic goods are products that, due to security reasons or to international agreements, are considered to be of such military importance that their export is either subject to specific conditions or prohibited altogether. The law also covers the control of transmission of intangibles such as software and technology.
STMO serves as the executive and technical agency of the government in establishing the management systems for trade in strategic goods pursuant to STMA.
The law is being implemented in phases with exports as the first sector covered.
In October 2019, the STMO began accepting applications for the registration of firms that intend to engage in cross-border strategic goods trade. Likewise, it began accepting applications for authorization to export dual-use goods in July 2020.
STMO Memorandum Circular No. 20-26 provides guidelines on export authorization.
READ: STMO accepts license application to export strategic goods
For a list of nationally controlled goods in PH requiring authorization, click here.
Under MC 20-26, export authorization is the authorization issued by the STMO to a person before he engages in the export of strategic goods.
Registration with the STMO is required prior to applying for an authorization to export strategic goods.
There are three types of export authorization. These are individual authorization, global authorization, and general authorization.
The authorization holder should ensure that the customs broker or authorized agent will submit to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) before departure a copy of the authorization and extract of the carrier’s manifest.
An authorization may be extended provided that the applicant inform the STMO and submit an accomplished form not later than 15 calendar days before the expiration of the authorization.
The export authorization may be suspended, annulled, revoked, limited, or modified depending on the conditions set forth under MC 20-26.
STMO earlier said the authorization is focused more on exports than imports, as the latter is already regulated by other government agencies, such as the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and Philippine National Police-Firearms and Explosives Division.
STMO will gradually cover other types of shipments, including transit/transshipment, re-export/re-assignment, related services (e.g. transporting, brokering), and imports.
In February this year, DTI said STMO had issued 13 export authorizations and registered 46 companies that intended to engage in or were currently engaged in cross-border trade of strategic goods. – Roumina Pablo
READ: PH strategic goods exports surge to $4.5 billion in 2021
