MEXICO PUBLISHES EXPORT LICENSE REQUIREMENTS FOR SOME CHEMICALS; SEEKS ADMITTANCE TO THE AUSTRALIA GROUP

• Mexico has established itself as a country that takes its global responsibilities seriously by complying fully with its international commitments to prevent the proliferation of conventional arms and weapons of mass destruction.

• Mexico reaffirms its commitment to disarmament and non-proliferation and the Mexican export industry is strengthened through the development of cutting edge technology.

• To support its application for membership in the Australia Group, the Mexican government has published its requirements for export licenses for controlled chemicals. The Australia Group is the leading international group in establishing export controls for precursor chemicals, dual-use facilities and equipment, and biological agents and animal and plant pathogens.

• Mexico’s export controls will be strengthened by adopting guidelines and control lists to regulate these items.

On April 12, 2013, the Ministries of Health; Environment and Natural Resources; Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food; and Economy, published in the Official Journal of the Federation an agreement on export permits for 34 chemicals classified under 21 tariff categories. With this, Mexico concludes the process of adopting the Australia Group’s export control list for chemical weapons precursors.

The Australia Group is the export control regime for precursor chemicals, dual-use facilities and equipment, biological agents and animal and plant pathogens. The group is comprised of the main producers of these products and technologies and was created to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or their diversion for illicit purposes.

By publishing this licensing requirement, Mexico establishes itself as a globally-responsible actor that fulfills its nonproliferation obligations as set forth in UN Security Council Resolution 1540, the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological Weapons Convention.

In 2011, Mexico exported almost three billion dollars of the dual-use assets included on the Australia Group control lists, especially chemical process equipment.

Mexico has now taken a step forward in strengthening its export control system by adopting the most important control lists for its export industry, a process that has allowed Mexico to enter the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Nuclear Suppliers Group. These new regulations make our export industry more secure and competitive and our industrial platform stronger, and allows the controlled development of cutting-edge technology in sectors that use controlled chemicals, biological agents and the related technology to continue.

The 41 participants in the Australia Group are: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Europan Commission, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom and the United States.

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