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German companies panicked last week as the nation’s parliament approved
a law strengthening controls on the export of weapons.

The legislation allows police to open the mail and tap the telephones
of companies suspected of exporting weapons, says Dieter Tiegel, secretary
of the Economics Committee of the Bundestag. But the clause which is causing
most anxiety concerns ‘dual use’ products – seemingly innocuous items that
can be turned to military use.

Alarmed companies have been trying to clarify what ‘dual use’ means.
One company makes bread knives which can easily be converted into bayonets.
In another case outlined by Tiegel, an exporter was planning to ship tubes
of lipstick to Asia, until the company discovered that tubes could be filled
with gunpowder and used as rifle cartridges. ‘It’s a question of where you
draw the line’,says Tiegel.

When law comes into force in the spring, companies will have to apply
to a new Federal Authority for Exports to gain export permits.