Exporting goods with both civilian and military applications ("dual-use goods") from Switzerland requires the approval of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (seco). The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) considers every application on its merits. Export applications are refused if there are grounds for assuming that the goods will be employed:

• for the production or use of weapons of mass destruction
• for the production of missiles delivering weapons of mass destruction.

Switzerland is one of the six largest exporters of goods with both civilian and military applications in the world (CHF 3-4 billion a year). Machine tools and chemicals are examples of such goods.