Restricted Enforcement Unit

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The Restricted Enforcement Unit (REU) is an expert-level committee set up in 1987 by the British government to control exports of military technology from the United Kingdom, in particular the illegal export or trade of conventional weaponry and weapons of mass destruction not licensed for export by the Department of Trade and Industry.

Export shipping the goods and services out of the port of a country

An export in international trade is a good or service produced in one country that is bought by someone in another country. The seller of such goods and services is an exporter; the foreign buyer is an importer.

United Kingdom Country in Europe

The United Kingdom (UK), officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and sometimes referred to as Britain, is a sovereign country located off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state, the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres (93,600 sq mi), the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world. It is also the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.

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Contents

The committee assesses and acts on intelligence of attempted, planned or accomplished breaches of UK export controls on sensitive items or technology to "countries of concern". It co-ordinates seizure or blocking of such materiel via its member departments.

Committee structure

The REU committee meets fortnightly, and is chaired by the Department of Trade and Industry. The REU includes representatives from the following government departments and intelligence agencies: [1]

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Known cases

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References

  1. House of Commons: Hansard Written Answers, 4 June 1998
  2. Urban, Mark (1996). UK Eyes Alpha: The Inside Story of British Intelligence. Faber and Faber. ISBN   0-571-19068-5.