Regulation of the Day 46: Chemical Weapons

If your company exports chemical weapons, make sure you keep good records. Every year, on company letterhead, you have to list ten things for the government. This includes which chemicals you exported, in what quantities, to whom, etc.

Reasonable enough. Chemical weapons in the wrong hands could pose a legitimate security threat. And supplying people with the means to kill other people is, shall we say, ethically dubious.

Still, the sixth item of our ten struck me as superfluous: “Purpose (end-use) of export.” This is rather obvious, is it not?