Common High Priority List definition

Common High Priority List

A list of Harmonised System codes covering items assessed as most critical to a restricted military programme, published jointly by export control authorities.

also known as

CHPL, common high priority items list

reviewed

2026-08-20

Cite this page

APA 7

Sanctions Evasion Reference. (2026, August 20). Common High Priority List. https://sanctionsevasion.org/reference/glossary/common-high-priority-list/

Chicago

Sanctions Evasion Reference. “Common High Priority List.” Last reviewed August 20, 2026. https://sanctionsevasion.org/reference/glossary/common-high-priority-list/.

BibTeX

@misc{ser-reference-glossary-common-high-priority-list,
  author = {{Sanctions Evasion Reference}},
  title  = {Common High Priority List},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {Last reviewed 2026-08-20},
  url    = {https://sanctionsevasion.org/reference/glossary/common-high-priority-list/}
}

The date is when this page was last reviewed, not when it was first published.

The list translates a policy concern into the vocabulary customs authorities and trade data actually use. By naming HS codes rather than product descriptions it lets an exporter, a bank or an analyst screen shipment data directly, and lets governments watch third-country import volumes in those codes for unexplained growth.

It is also the clearest example of why HS-level analysis matters: a jump in one six-digit code for a country with no corresponding industry is visible in public trade statistics long before any individual shipment is investigated.

Where this term is used

What is dual-use re-export diversion? — Buying controlled civil-use goods lawfully in an open market and re-exporting them to a restricted end user, exploiting the fact that the item itself looks entirely ordinary.
What is HS code misclassification? — Declaring goods under a Harmonised System commodity code that does not describe them, so that they attract the wrong duty, escape a licence requirement, or disappear from the statistics that would show them.
What is third-country transshipment? — Routing restricted goods through an intermediate country so that the shipment reaching the restricted destination appears to originate somewhere the exporter would have supplied without question.

Related terms

HS code — A six-digit commodity code from the World Customs Organization Harmonised System, extended nationally, that determines the tariff and the controls applied to goods.
Dual-use goods — Items with legitimate civil applications that can also contribute to military or weapons programmes, and which are therefore export-controlled.
Mirror statistics — Comparing what one country reports exporting to a partner with what the partner reports importing from it, treating persistent gaps as evidence of misreporting.

Where this term is used

Related terms

Sources