Export control
Research knows no borders. International research projects and global partnerships are very important for ETH Zurich. However, they also present us with challenges when research extends Switzerland's national borders.
International relations and partnerships in research, teaching and knowledge transfer are an integral part of ETH Zurich’s work environment.
Export control
The Goods Control Act and the Embargo Act form the basis of export control.
They regulate the cross-border exchange of goods for civilian and military use (dual-use goods) and war materials. These include products, technologies (information and knowledge) and software (collectively referred to as goods).
Listed goods are subject to approval by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO when exported from Switzerland. Where the exchange of controlled goods involves US origin, US licences may also be required.
The exporter, i.e. the person who has knowledge or goods dispatched from Switzerland, is obliged to check both the end user and the final use.
The classification of the goods determines whether export controls apply.
Embargo and sanctions legislation must be taken into account whenever goods are sent/exchanged with a recipient in a sanctioned country.
Admissions to Masters and doctorates as well as invitations of guests and employment, are also affected by sanctions. For this reason, a security screening is carried out for export-control-relevant fields of study.
⇒ Basic principles for security screening for the admission to master study and doctorate
Classification of goods
The export control number and the origin of the goods form the basis for the classification of goods. The export control number is determined from goods control lists. The origin of goods indicates the country in which the goods were obtained, produced, or researched.
Only by determining the export control number and the origin of the goods can an assessment be made as to whether, in addition to Swiss export control laws, US export control laws also need to be considered and whether an official export permit is required.
ETH Zurich areas affected by the cross-border movement of goods (not exhaustive):
- Purchase of export-controlled goods and software intended as temporary exports from Switzerland.
- The sale, rental, brokering or donation of export-controlled products leaving Switzerland.
- Research cooperations and contracts for grants where the contract contains export control clauses.
- The admission procedure for master and doctoral students, invitations to visiting professors and academic guests, and the hiring procedure for employees from embargoed and high-risk countries who are to be given access to export-controlled areas and unpublished controlled technology. Relevant factors for security clearance include nationality, place of residence, educational background, course of study and research topic.
- Travel abroad with mobile devices on which export-controlled software and technologies are stored.
The five key issues in export control:
- WHERE do the goods come from? Country of origin of the goods
- WHAT is to be exported? Goods, technology or software
- WHERE are the goods to be exported to? Final destination country of the exported goods
- WHO is to receive the goods? Final consumer and whether an embargoed country is involved
- WHAT will the goods be used for? End-use of the goods in the country of destination
Only if the export control examination has taken place and any necessary approval has been granted by the authorities may an exchange of knowledge, a cross-border supply of goods and software, or the provision of a service take place.
Exemptions
Basic scientific research, information on patent applications and research results already published and made freely available to the public are not subject to an export control examination.
Help with implementing export controls
Detailed information can be found on the protected page ETH Export Control website.
The security screening takes into account applications for admission to a master's or doctoral programme from countries that have been placed on the sanctions list by the United Nations Security Council and incorporated into the national law of UN member states, such as Switzerland. In addition, countries classified by Switzerland as proliferation risk countries or subject to sanctions by the EU and the US are also included.
- Download Factsheet on the assessment of Master's applications - security screening (PDF, 180 KB)
- Download Factsheet on security screenings for doctoral applications (PDF, 156 KB)
- Download List of embargo and Risk countries (PDF, 96 KB)
- Download List of the most important universities of origin that require a security screening (PDF, 94 KB)
- Download Basic Scientific Research or applied Research? The Delimitation from the Perspective of Export Control (PDF, 290 KB)
If sanctions are imposed by foreign states, these must also be observed by their nationals when they are abroad, e.g. in Switzerland. Failure to comply with such sanctions may result in serious disadvantages for these nationals. ETH Zurich must therefore protect its employees from the risks and consequences of violating foreign or international sanctions (duty of care).
Contact for questions:
For Masters courses:
For doctoral programmes:
Important remark:
Generally, bachelor's degree studies are not covered by the security screening, unless a part of the previous education took place at a university of origin that is relevant for security screening
(Download list of security-relevant universities (PDF, 94 KB))
Likewise, no security screening is considered for a consecutive transfer to a master's degree studies at ETH Zurich.
Responsibility for implementing Swiss, EU and US export control regulations rests with any person who exports or exchanges goods from Switzerland across borders. Overall responsibility, however, lies with the budget officers and managers in the units in question (e.g. professors, heads of departments, heads of staff units).
- Download vertical_align_bottom Goods Control Act
- Download vertical_align_bottom Goods Control Ordinance (incl. lists of dual-use goods)
- Download vertical_align_bottom Verordnung über die Ausfuhr und Vermittlung von Gütern zur Internet- und Mobilfunküberwachung (Ordinance on the export and brokering of goods for internet and mobile phone surveillance); available only in German
- Procurement: When making a purchase, have the supplier give you the export control number, the country of origin and the customs tariff number (for goods only) with the quotation. The information is important for goods classification and entry in the inventory database (ETHIS).
- Classification of goods: Classify results (technologies) from research in order to determine whether an export licence is required from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO for the exchange or initial publication.
- Exports of equipment: Make sure in the case of (temporary and permanent) exports, gifts and rentals that the export control number and the country of origin of the goods are known and, if necessary, that an export permit is available.
- Research cooperation and subsidies: Do not accept any unilateral conditions with regard to export control that apply beyond the scope of the law.
- Exchange of knowledge, technology transfer: Prior to the exchange of knowledge of unpublished technology, goods must be classified. This rule applies to e-mail correspondence, participation in conferences and congresses abroad, and telephone or direct exchanges with research colleagues abroad.
- Hiring staff, guests, admissions: Check the job for its relevance for export control and document this accordingly if a job has to be advertised. The classification of the position helps the HR process if applications are received from persons from embargoed countries. The same applies to Master’s programmes and admissions to them.