Industry Group Issues Export Recommendations

The Coalition for Security and Competitiveness last month released its recommendations for modernizing U.S. export controls. The Space Foundation is among the 14 organizations participating in the effort to improve United States' technological competitiveness by adopting new policies to govern U.S. export controls and new administrative regulations and procedures to streamline export licensing and compliance requirements.

In a Jan. 11 letter to President Barack Obama, the coalition said its recommendations, combined with principles it released last October, "would create a 21st-century export control regime that protects critical technologies, safeguards our national security, spurs innovation, and promotes economic growth."

The recommended near- and medium-term reforms are designed to create a modern export control system within the existing legislative authorizations. The broad recommendations include:

• Drawing clear lines of agency responsibility to eliminate interagency conflict and confusion, especially relating to dual-use items.
• Enhancing cooperation with industry, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, to reduce their risk and liability.
• Enhancing cooperation with allies, including creating common objectives, definitions, and procedures for controlling exports.
• Improving the licensing system and increasing transparency, especially for countries with proven compliance.
• Reducing the items appearing on control lists to reflect rapid advances in technology and to permit the U.S. to export more low-sensitivity/high-commercial-value technology. This includes clarifying what constitutes a "defense item."
• Transitioning to an end user-based system with more efficient procedures for trusted end-users and exporters.
• Revising encryption rules to eliminate unnecessary restrictions and burdens that hamper competitiveness.
• Improving export licensing caseload management, including developing a workable framework for technology sharing between the U.S. and allies/partners.
• Improving communication and disclosure processes among involved government departments.
• Eliminating redundancies and improving efficiency in the review process.

To see the full set of recommendations, click here.

The members of the Coalition for Security and Competitiveness are:

• Space Foundation
• Aerospace Industries Association
• American Association of Exporters and Importers
• American Chemistry Council
• American League for Exports and Security Assistance
• AMT - Association for Manufacturing Technology
• Business Roundtable
• Coalition for Employment Through Exports
• General Aviation Manufacturers Association
• Industrial Fastener Institute
• Information Technology Industry Council
• IPC - Association Connecting Electronics Industries
• National Association of Manufacturers
• National Defense Industrial Association
• National Foreign Trade Council
• Satellite Industry Association
• Space Enterprise Council
• TechAmerica
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce

See related article in the August 2009 issue of Space Watch;  and the Space Foundation's white paper, ITAR and the U.S. Space Industry.

 

This article is part of Space Watch: Februrary 2010 (Volume: 9, Issue: 2).