Major step forward in President’s reform initiative to modernize export control system U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today announced the next step in President Obama’s export control reform (ECR) initiative aimed at strengthening U.S. national security and ensuring the competitiveness of American companies abroad. The Department will implement today a new license exception, Strategic Trade Authorization (STA), that will facilitate exports between the United States and partner countries while enhancing the competitiveness of key industrial base sectors.
The Export Control Reform Initiative aims to build higher fences around a core set of items whose misuse can pose a national security threat to the United States. By facilitating trade to close partners and allies, the Commerce Department can better focus its resources ensuring the most sensitive items do no end up where they should not.
“This is a significant step in President Obama’s Export Control Reform Initiative which enhances our national security and makes U.S. exporters more competitive by easing their licensing burden for exports to partners and allies,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Eric L. Hirschhorn.
At the same time, the license exception establishes new safeguards designed to ensure Department of Commerce approval is obtained before controlled items exported under the exception are re-exported outside of authorized destinations.
To see a copy of the regulation published in the Federal Register Notice, go to http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-06-16/pdf/2011-14705.pdf.
Background The President has directed a broad-based interagency reform of the U.S. export control system with the goal of strengthening national security and the competitiveness of key U.S. manufacturing and technology sectors by focusing on current threats and adapting to the changing economic and technological landscape.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
