Taylor Dinerman looks at what he views as the failure of ITAR - the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The American export control regime is designed to control the spread of military technology abroad. Instead, it has crippled the nation’s ability to compete in key technology areas, especially in satellite techology, Dinerman says.
“ITAR handed over control of an important part of the US high tech economy to a set of hyper-cautious, hyper-legalistic, and slow-moving bureaucrats,” he writes.
The National Security Space Office (NSSO) recently proposed loosening the ITAR regime, a move that received the endorsement of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Dinerman calls the proposed changes “minimal.”
“Even taking into account the statutory limits involved, few serious changes were offered. The most potentially important part was the promise to require decisions on licensing to be made within sixty days of the application,” he wrote.
Dinerman believes the next president should appoint a small task force to suggest meaningful changes in ITAR.
It looks as if there could be some loosening in the American government’s export control regulations. The National Security Space Office (NSSO) has proposed changes to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).
ITAR is designed to control the export of defense related technologies and services. Many groups feels that the regulations have been too tight, thus limiting the ability of American companies to compete internationally in space and other high-tech areas.
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is backing the proposed changes, which were discussed on Tuesday at a public hearing on Capitol Hill organized by the Aerospace States Association.
“We support the efforts of the NSSO to revise national export control policy,” AIAA President Paul D. Nielsen said in a press release. “International competition has intensified while at the same time producing new opportunities for collaboration and creating potential new export markets.
“I am certain that through deliberate public discourse such as the discussion that occurred today, a prudent balance between national security concerns and an environment that fosters innovation and progress in our nation’s space efforts will be struck. AIAA stands ready to enlist the knowledge of its technical experts in support of this goal,” he added.
You can read AIAA’s press release here.
