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The Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies, is one of four multilateral export control regimes in which the United States participates. The Arrangement's purpose is to contribute to regional and international security and stability by promoting transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use (i.e. those having civil and military uses) goods and technologies to prevent destabilizing accumulations of those items. The Wassenaar Arrangement establishes lists of items for which member countries are to apply export controls. Member governments implement these controls to ensure that transfers of the controlled items do not contribute to the development or enhancement of military capabilities that undermine the goals of the Arrangement, and are not diverted to support such capabilities. In addition, the Wassenaar Arrangement imposes some reporting requirements on its member governments.
The U.S. Government controls all items for export that are controlled multilaterally by the Wassenaar Arrangement. In general, export controls for dual-use goods and technologies controlled in the Wassenaar Arrangement are administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce and controlled for national security reasons on the Commerce Control List and the U.S. Department of State administers export controls on conventional arms.
The agreement establishing the Wassenaar Arrangement, called the initial elements, was approved by its 33 founding countries in July 1996. The Arrangement began operations in September of that year. Its headquarters are in Vienna, Austria although it is named after a suburb of The Hague, Netherlands where the agreement was reached. The Wassenaar Arrangement operates through a permanent secretariat in Vienna. In addition, its member countries send delegations to Austria for working groups and other meetings to develop organizational policy. A Plenary meeting is held annually to approve or reject the policies recommended by the working groups.