Forty countries apply controls to exports of products, technology, and software.

The purpose is to improve security and to combat terrorism, using the Wassenaar Arrangement – surprisingly, this is not the name of a spy novel.

The full name is: “The Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies”), which is a multilateral export control regime (MECR) with 40 participating countries.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassenaar_Arrangement for more details.

The exporting party must provide an ECCN for the product, technology, and software to be exported.

Encryption software and devices, along with transfers by high-risk entities, are subject to the greatest export restrictions.

Argent Software products are classified as ECCN EAR99.

If you’re fascinated by this (aren’t we all?), see:

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECCN

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