The Wassenaar Arrangement became operational in the summer 1996 and, its forty member countries, advocate the implementation of effective export controls on strategic items with the objective of improving regional and international security and stability. The Secretariat is located in Vienna (Austria). Most WA meetings are held in the Secretariat. A list of participating states is available here.

To harmonize U.S. regulations with the changes made to the Wassenaar List at the December WA Plenary meeting, the Commerce Department has released a Final Rule to the Export Administration Regulations that amends the entries on the Commerce Control List that are controlled for national security reasons in Categories 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Parts I & II, 6, 7, 8, and 9, revises reporting requirements, and adds and amends definitions in the Export Administration Regulations.

The final rule is available here.