The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) has published a new survey assessing the impact of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) license exemption for the Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) partnership, a year after its introduction.
Eric Fanning, AIA President and CEO, commented on the partnership, stating, "AUKUS continues to be a transformational partnership that will shape the future of defense cooperation between the U.S., Australia, and the United Kingdom. Insights from AIA’s survey serve as a vital pulse-check on industry’s support of the partnership and highlight areas ripe for advancement."
Fanning added, "AIA member companies have utilized the International Traffic in Arms Regulation exemption, easing some restrictive hurdles and facilitating greater industry collaboration across the AUKUS ecosystem—but barriers to seamless integration remain, such as an expansive Excluded Technologies List and reexport restrictions. AIA’s strategic recommendations will unlock additional opportunities for collaboration and further operationalize the full power of AUKUS."
The survey results show that the ITAR exemption has helped American aerospace and defense companies collaborate more easily with partners in Australia and the United Kingdom. However, some obstacles remain, including a broad list of excluded technologies and limitations on reexporting certain items.
To address these issues, AIA has released recommendations calling for more consistent definitions and scope among the three countries, clearer guidance on excluded technologies and reexports, and more frequent engagement with industry partners.
Further details about the survey and AIA’s recommendations are available on the association’s website.
