GAO Says Implementing Export Reform May be Difficult
The Government Accountability Office has sent a letter to Congressional requestors1 entitled "Export Controls: Agency Actions and Proposed Reform Initiatives May Address Previously Identified Weaknesses, but Challenges Remain."
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GAO Reviewed 22 Export Control Reports Issued Over Past 10 Years
To identify U.S. export control agencies’ actions addressing our prior report findings and to obtain a status of the Administration’s reform efforts, GAO reviewed the findings and recommendations of 22 reports it issued over the past ten years on the U.S. export control system.
GAO notes that this report includes no new recommendations.
Agencies Have Reduced License Processing Times, Increased Enforcement
GAO states that agencies have taken actions to address several weaknesses in the U.S. export control system that it previously identified. Specifically, agencies have taken actions in several areas, including reducing the time it takes to process arms licenses and making initial efforts to coordinate export control enforcement activities among multiple agencies.
Export Reform Framework Has Potential, But Arms Exports Not Addressed
The export control reform framework—as proposed—has the potential to address weaknesses in the U.S. export control system related to control lists, licensing, enforcement, and information technology, including areas where agencies have not addressed prior findings.
However, for a few areas, such as developing measures of effectiveness for the arms export control system, agencies have not addressed some of GAO's prior findings and the reform framework does not contain specific initiatives to address them.
Challenges in Interagency Agreement, Congressional Approval on Reform
Furthermore, GAO states that the Administration may have challenges in implementing fundamental reform of the export control system—such as reaching interagency agreement on which items need to be controlled and obtaining congressional approval for implementing reforms.
1The Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 04/21/10 news, 10042125, for BP summary of the Administration's announcement of “fundamental reform” plans for U.S. export controls.
See ITT’s Online Archives or 12/10/10 news, 10121013 and 10121021, for BP summary of a recent State Department advance notice of proposed rulemaking on the “tiering” of defense articles, and its proposed rule to tier Category VII.)
(GAO-11-135R, dated 11/16/10)