The Coalition for Security and Competitiveness, a group formed in March 2007 with the goal of modernising the U.S. export control system, wrote to National Security Advisor Gen. James Jones and National Economic Council Direction Lawrence Summers on 2 October calling for a number of administrative changes to improve the U.S. export control system. The coalition, which is made up of 17 trade associations, including the National Foreign Trade Council, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Electronics Industry Alliance, the American Association of Exporters and Importers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, applauded President Obama’s recent decision to undertake a thorough review of the U.S. export control system and expressed its commitment to work with the administration on this issue. The aim of the review, which is being conducted through an inter-agency process led by the National Economic Council and the National Security Council, is to consider reforms to the system to enhance the national security, foreign policy and economic security interests of the United States. Many U.S. exporters of high-technology goods hope that this process will result in less cumbersome export control procedures that strengthen the competitiveness of U.S. exporters and actually promote rather than undermine U.S. national security.

The broad principles set forth by the coalition are as follows: (1) prevent proliferation of and access to the most sensitive and militarily critical technologies by current and potential adversaries; (2) promote defence co-operation, foreign sales and interoperability with U.S. partners and allies, consistent with U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives; (3) support U.S. technological and scientific leadership while leveraging the benefits of foreign technological innovation; and (4) strengthen U.S. competitiveness in global technology markets and preserve a cutting-edge industrial base, including a highly skilled workforce.

The coalition stated that the federal government should implement the following policies to meet these goals.

• develop clear policy criteria and an effective decision-making process for identifying truly critical technologies whose protection is essential to U.S. national security
• minimise U.S. controls on items readily available in the global marketplace to ensure that limited government and corporate export control resources are applied to the most sensitive items
• rationalise the export licensing system to reduce costs and administrative processing times by ensuring clear lines of agency jurisdiction, increasing co-operation among relevant agencies and promoting more responsive and efficient management of controlled exports
• institute new licensing protocols to facilitate the transfer of controlled technologies and items within companies and their foreign subsidiaries and offices so long as the companies maintain appropriate standards of internal control and compliance
• strengthen U.S. security and enhance interoperability by implementing more efficient approaches to licensing for defence and national security programs important to the U.S. government in which success hinges on timely technology sharing with the country’s closest allies and partners
• increase transparency in rules and regulations and set reasonable enforcement standards and practices while increasing co-operation and dialogue with industry to help companies achieve best-in-class compliance programmes
• promote a more effective system of multi-lateral controls by seeking greater harmonisation of export controls among major trading partners and minimising uni-lateral controls

The coalition’s letter came on the heels of a speech by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke on the future of U.S. export controls. Locke reiterated that the current export control system is based on a Cold War framework that is ill-suited to address the challenges and threats of the 21st century and advocated a comprehensive overhaul that focuses on technologies that pose the greatest risk to national security. Although Locke admitted that fundamental reform will require statutory authority and action from Congress, he said that he has directed the Bureau of Industry and Security to pursue the following two actions.

• Consider eliminating certain dual-use export licence requirements for allies and partner nations (about 40-60 countries) consistent with statutory and international obligations, which would stem the trend of foreign suppliers having a competitive advantage over U.S. companies in these critical trade markets due solely to the difference between export control policies.

• Explore implementing a fast-track process that would greatly reduce the time it takes to review dual-use export licences for other key countries that do not pose a significant threat and have a strong history of export control compliance. Although licence applications to these countries are generally approved and processed within regulatory timelines, the time taken to review a licence application can undermine U.S. sales abroad. Locke stressed that the envisioned process would maintain the same rigor and commitment to U.S. security as before but would operate on a faster timeline.