Government Officials Tout Increased Interagency Collaboration on Export Regulations
U.S. agencies are increasingly collaborating in developing export regulations, bringing more integration and effectiveness to the administration in that policy field, top-ranking officials from the Commerce, State, Defense and Treasury departments said during a Nov. 3 panel at the Bureau of Industry and Security’s 2015 Update conference. The administration isn’t yet ready to overcome ongoing challenges in its drive to create a single licensing agency for exports, but that effort continues, said Directorate of Defense Trade Controls Deputy Assistant Director Brian Nilsson. BIS officials made a strong pitch for that single agency, which they refer to as Phase III of Export Control Reform, the day before (see 1511020024).
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Increasing Agency Participation in USXPORTS
The Commerce and State Departments are “fully online” with USXPORTS, the interface that allows agencies to move export licenses among each other, said Defense Technology Security Administration Director Beth McCormick at the conference. The interface also contains a “very good repository of precedent cases,” she said. State is on board in processing both munitions, as well as dual-use and military item, licenses on the interface, McCormick said. “We have the Department of Energy online and now we’re finishing up and we’ll be adding [Treasury’s OFAC].”
State is far, however, from processing all its documentation electronically, said Nilsson. USXPORTS is "only one [information technology system]," he said. "DDTC is still very much a paper-based system. It's amazing to me how much paper is on people's desks and how much time it takes," said Nilsson. DDTC has "hired a [Chief Information Officer], who is now doing sort of a comprehensive scrub of all the other systems in DDTC that need to be overhauled so we can start transitioning to a truly electronic process." That new official is Karen Wrege, who spoke elsewhere at the conference.
Iran Deal Implementation Won't Bring Big Uptick in US Trade
U.S. sanctions relief in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action largely paves the way for non U.S.-persons to deal more with Iran, but the relief rollout won't open the Iranian market for significant U.S. exports, said Office of Foreign Assets Control Acting Director John Smith. The relief for U.S. persons targets foodstuffs and carpets import from Iran, as well as aircraft and aircraft parts shipments to the country (see 1507160020). That relief won't take effect until the JCPOA Implementation Day, which U.S. officials have said is expected in early 2016. The International Atomic Energy Agency will then have to verify the Iranian reform.
Smith warned though that any Iranian violations will revoke the relief. "We are prepared to quickly snap back the sanctions. What I mean by that is we will reimpose the sanctions," Smith said. "That does not mean we will retroactively make sanctionable what was a permitted transactions. But what it does mean is that we will prohibit any further engagement under the transaction or contract that was entered it to." OFAC is committed to providing in-depth guidance before Implementation Day, he added.
Administration Continues Push for UN Arms Treaty Ratification
Director of the State Office of Conventional Arms Threat Reduction, Ann Ganzer, championed increased global participation in multilateral control regimes, such as Australia Group and the Wassenaar Arrangement. Ganzer also renewed the administration’s push for ratification of the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty, a pact the U.S. signed in 2013. The ATT needs to garner a two-thirds majority in the Senate for ratification, which officials admit is a daunting task (see 13092610).
The pact aims to boost international defense trade oversight, and U.S. gun rights are not subject to any terms, Ganzer said. “It is a trade regulation treaty focused exclusively on the international trade of conventional arms,” said Ganzer. “It won’t change what we in the United States do on a day-to-day basis to implement effective export and import controls on conventional arms and address illicit shipments of conventional arms. Rather, it will induce other countries to come up to our standards.” The pact entered into force in late 2014 with 78 ratifying parties.