Exporters Praise Review of Controls

U.S. exporters are praising the White House decision to launch a broad review of export controls and say they hope it leads to a more streamlined system that recognizes modern technology and trade.

“While license processing times have improved over the last year-and-a-half, there is much more that can and should be done to modernize the system,” Marion Blakey, president of the Aerospace Industries Association, said in a statement.

“The economic and security challenges our country faces continue to grow more complex, and we must have a modern export control system that protects U.S. technology while allowing us to cooperate and trade with our close allies and partners," she said.

The White House announced the inter-agency review Aug. 13, saying it hoped to bring up to date a system “rooted in the Cold War era.”

At the same time, the administration said it would extend for another year the law governing technology export controls. The law expired in 2001 but Congress has been unable to agree on a new version, forcing an emergency extension each year by executive order from the White House.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee is reviewing current export controls with the goal of passing a new version of the law by next year.

"The president's announcement is good news because export control reform is long overdue," Bill Reinsch, president of the National Foreign Trade Council, said in a statement. "But export control reviews are frequently announced, occasionally begun, and never completed. The really good news will be when it is finished."

The House Foreign Affairs Committee is reviewing current export controls with the goal of passing a new version of the law by next year.