EXPORT CONTROL POLICY INITIATIVES UNDER THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

The primary international framework for export controls of weapons and associated technology is the Wassenaar Arrangement by which participating countries agreed to maintain export controls on listed items as implemented by national legislation. In the United States, the agencies responsible for implementing and managing export control laws are the Department of State through its International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the Department of Commerce through its Export Administration Regulations. The goal of the export control system is to deny adversaries access to defense technology while ensuring cooperation with allies and coalition partners, and scrutinizing potential defense exports for their effect on regional stability. While predictably export licenses are required for the traditional transfer of defense and dual-use (civilian and military) articles, less intuitive is the fact that licenses also are required for the disclosure of technical data to foreign nationals in the United States or abroad. The U.S. regulations also control re-exports of defense and dual-use items. For example, if technical data is exported to a U.S. subsidiary in Germany, and that technology is shared in Germany with a foreign national from China, who works for the subsidiary, then a subsequent license for that disclosure of data might be needed, depending upon its classification. Restrictions on the sharing of research results and collaboration among scientists worldwide actually may undermine critical security goals by thwarting the collaboration needed for high-tech scientific advancements in both university research programs and industries. The Department of Commerce under President Obama proposes 1) to revise the deemed export regulations to validate foreign end-users in order to encourage collaborative exchange, 2) to develop a process for systematic review of the list of controlled dual-use items, 3) to revise controls on encryption products, and 4) to review re-export controls. This paper examines the complexity of the pre-Obama regulations which thwarted compliance efforts, frustrated technological developments and hindered cooperation among global partners. It also analyzes proposed changes to that policy, which are designed to enhance innovation, realize global economic gains, and facilitate trade to reliable foreign customers, while concurrently denying access to sensitive technologies to proliferators, international terrorists, and other foreign parties acting