Aerospace Industries Association
October 2009 Viewpoint
Export Control Modernization – A Time that Has Come
The president announced in August that the administration was undertaking a comprehensive review of the U.S. export control system. This is very welcome news to AIA, which has been advocating change and modernization for quite some time.
It is particularly welcome that the review is being led by the National Security Council and the National Economic Council, sending a clear signal that the administration recognizes the implications of the export control system on our national security and economy.
One hopeful sign is that the review was announced early in the administration – indicating that the effort is serious. Another is that it truly is a top-down effort, with Defense Secretary Gates, among others, spearheading interest and action.
The current review follows some positive actions from the previous administration. In 2007, AIA and 17 other associations formed the Coalition for Security and Competitiveness, which brought critical administration attention to this issue. In January 2008, National Security Presidential Directive 56 was released, resulting in reduced license processing times and a shorter licensing backlog at the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. 
We now have a chance to build on that set of reforms and get it right for the long term by developing a system that is predictable, efficient and transparent. Let’s look at what the fundamentals of a modern export control system should be. First, it should prevent our adversaries from acquiring our most sensitive technology. Second, the system should not compromise industry’s ability to engage in defense trade and technology cooperation that supports our warfighters and our allies who stand shoulder to shoulder with us.
Industry has identified a number of priorities that AIA will be taking to the review team. They fall in five areas, namely:
- Rationalization of the process that determines what technologies are on the U.S Munitions List, and how items can be transitioned on or off as they move through the technology cycle.
- Application of caseload management techniques to replace transaction by transaction licensing, particularly in support of the programs most critical to our warfighters and allies.
- Clarification of the process and regulations that underpin compliance, coupled with greater enforcement resources, so that there is greater overall confidence in the fairness and efficacy of the system.
- Coordination of multiple technology review boards at the Defense Department that make the initial policy and technical determinations to allow specific technologies to be shared by the U.S. with its partners.
- Focus on how the next-generation of aerospace and defense technologies, including unmanned aerial systems, are administered under U.S. and multilateral control regimes.
Although not officially part of the White House review, the passage of the U.K. and Australian Defense Trade Cooperation Treaties by the Senate provide more appropriate controls on commercial satellites and related components and technologies and remain critical markers for success in modernizing the system.
Coming up with a new framework for a system that is rooted in the Cold War won’t be easy. It will be a cooperative effort, requiring extensive coordination among multiple interagency players, as well as the involvement of Congress and industry.
AIA, for one, is ready to do our part to ensure that the United States has a robust and effective export control system that is an enabling component of our broader national security interests.
Marion C. Blakey