The FINANCIAL — The most significant changes to the U.S. export control system in decades become effective today: the first sets of regulatory changes that redefine how the U.S. Government protects sensitive technologies by regulating and enforcing exports of U.S.-origin defense products and services, a major milestone in the President’s Export Control Reform Initiative.
These new rules define the revised list of items regulated for export under the U.S. Munitions List’s (USML) Category VIII – Aircraft and Associated Equipment, and Category XIX – Gas Turbine Engines, and a new corresponding Commerce Control List (CCL) munitions series, will focus the U.S. Government’s export control resources on the most sensitive items, facilitate interoperability with U.S. allies and partners, and will strengthen the U.S. defense and aerospace industrial base, which is responsible for more than $20 billion in annual exports, according to the U.S. State Department.
Based on technical and policy reviews started led by the Departments of State, Defense, and Commerce, and also including representatives from other departments and agencies, these reforms were developed in close consultation with the private sector and Congress with extensive public review and comment. Export Control Reform will move less sensitive items that no longer merit controls under the USML, such as certain parts and components, to the CCL, to allow for more flexible licensing authorizations to allies and partners while increasing the number of enforcement officials available to safeguard against illicit attempts to procure sensitive defense technologies.
The next sets of revised categories, involving military vehicles, vessels, submarines, and auxiliary military equipment will become effective on January 6, 2014. Work continues on the remaining categories and they will similarly be notified to Congress and published over the coming months, according to the U.S. State Department.
Updating U.S. export control lists is a key component of the President’s Export Control Reform, Initiative which has brought together experts from across the U.S. Government to overhaul the Cold War-era system of regulations on exports of controlled technologies to better meet emerging U.S. national security challenges and foreign policy objectives.
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