US export-control reform gains momentum
After languishing for years, efforts to reform U.S. defence export control laws appear to be gaining momentum. President Obama vowed in his State of the Union address Jan. 27 to double U.S. exports and "reform export controls consistent with national security."
Earlier that day, Defence Secretary Robert Gates and other top administration officials breakfasted with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to discuss what's being called Obama's "ambitious plans to dramatically reform our nation's outdated export control system."
Meanwhile, Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he expects to introduce "bipartisan" legislation this spring to overhaul export control regulations. The push for export reforms has become "re-energized in the last couple of weeks," a congressional aide said.
At the Pentagon, chief spokesman Geoff Morrell said Gates wants "meaningful and lasting changes to our export controls." That's a sharp break from the past. "This department has historically been an impediment, an obstacle to meaningful change," Morrell said. "What's different now is that [Gates] is fully supportive of dramatic change." The developments are reigniting hope in the defence industry.
"Trade expansion and export control modernization are long-time priorities," said Marion Blakey, president of the Aerospace Industries Association. "Recognition of their importance by the president sets a positive tone for action this year."
Obama's trade reform comments "were welcome. It sounds like we share the same goals," said Erin Streeter, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Manufacturers. The president's remarks "definitely demonstrate the importance exports have in terms of job creation and manufacturing. We were pleased to see them," she said. While hope for export control reform grows, it is not at all clear what shape the reforms might take. Obama offered no details. The Capitol Hill breakfast was conducted in secret, aides excluded, details withheld.
During a Jan. 15 hearing in California, Berman said the Foreign Affairs Committee was preparing "for a complete revision of the statute that authorizes our system of licensing and controlling dual-use technologies."
Those are technologies that are useful for both military and civilian purposes. Thermal imaging technology, for example, gives the U.S. military an advantage on the battlefield, Berman said. Exports are restricted to deny the technology to adversaries. But thermal imaging is also used in advanced collision avoidance systems that U.S. companies would like to sell to an expanding market abroad.
Similar dual-use dilemmas arise with encryption technology, some commercial software, bioengineering and nanotechnology, he said. "There is a growing consensus among security experts, as well as academics and industry leaders, that our current system of export controls needs to be updated in order to continue protecting sensitive technologies while also maintaining U.S. technological leadership," Berman said.
Source: www.defensenews.com
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