Western Quantum Export Controls Are Evolving Into an Industrial Strategy, IISS Analysis Says

The International Institute for Strategic Studies concludes that Western governments are transforming quantum export controls from a reactive security measure into a broader industrial strategy aimed at shaping the future quantum ecosystem while limiting rivals’ access to critical technologies. The analysis identifies a small number of supply chain “choke points”—including dilution refrigerators, isotopically enriched silicon, cryogenic systems and quantum control electronics—as the most effective targets for coordinated export controls because they are produced by relatively few suppliers in allied countries. The report argues that export controls alone cannot secure long-term quantum leadership, emphasizing that governments must pair them with industrial policy, investment screening and sustained support for strategically important quantum companies to maintain their technological advantage. Western governments are no longer using export controls simply to restrict sensitive quantum technologies—they are increasingly using them to shape the future structure of the global quantum industry, according to a new analysis from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). According to the report, the United States and several allies have fundamentally changed how they approach export controls for…