Armaments

The War Materiel Act governs the manufacture and transfer of war materiel, including technology, with the aim of ensuring compliance with Switzerland's international obligations and foreign policy principles, and of maintaining a defence industry commensurate with the country's needs.

The purposes of the Act are implemented through a dual licensing requirement. The manufacture, trade and brokering of war materiel to recipients abroad require a general licence, in order to ensure that proper business conduct ('compliance') is guaranteed and that the activity does not run counter to national interests. In addition, an individual licence is required for imports, exports and transit, as well as for trade, brokering and the conclusion of contracts for the transfer of intangible assets, including know-how.

Simplified arrangements apply to countries listed in Annex 2 to the War Materiel Ordinance: brokering, trade and technology transfer to those countries are permitted without an individual licence, though the export of war materiel always remains subject to a licensing requirement. These countries, like Switzerland, are members of all four international export control regimes.