Les contrôles à l'exportation pour les armes et les biens à double usage : enjeux et responsabilités

Arms trade is an important economic factor. Worldwide, this market accounts for an estimated total of 900 billion dollars each year. Armaments exports display a conflict between two kinds of interest: security interests and commercial interests. They tend to have a political dimension that does not reveal itself in the short run. If the European Union decides to lift its arms embargo on China, for example, this would mean immediate revenues for companies like EADS. However, the effect might be that China feels encouraged to repeat violent actions like that in response to which the embargo was introduced (suppression of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989). Also, European technology might be used against EU member states or one of their strategic partners in the event of military conflict.

Even when there clearly are geopolitical choices, and not only commercial interests, behind an export strategy, these exports may turn out to be contrary to a country's security objectives later on. In all Gulf wars, for example, the USA and their allies had to face an army that had been heavily supplied with German, French, and American military equipment. These exports had initially been directed against the Iranian revolution, but long-term security interests and impacts have been neglected.