President Announces Initial Actions on Export Control System Reform (Encryption Products, Etc.)
The White House has posted a fact sheet on the President's National Export Initiative,1 which covers the initial results of the Administration's efforts to reform the U.S. export control system, including an upcoming change for encryption products, and the government-wide export advocacy effort.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
Export Control System Controls to be Narrowed
The President states that the Administration's reform program will enhance national security by focusing on the enforcement of strict controls around the export of the most critical technologies and products, while strengthening the competitiveness of key manufacturing industries in the U.S. by streamlining the regulations that apply to their exports.
Reform proposals to be outlined shortly. The Secretary of Defense will lay out the outline of the reform proposals in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the President has announced that the Administration is prepared to take action on reducing the delay of U.S. exports of encryption products as one of the steps to reform the export control system.
Reduce delay of U.S. exports of encryption products. According to the fact sheet, a rulemaking will be proposed to replace the current review-and-wait process for exports of encryption products with a more efficient one-time notification notification-and-ship process which may eliminate up to 85% of all the technical reviews of these products. The new process will continue ensure that the U.S. government still receives information it needs for its national security requirements while facilitating U.S. exports and innovation for new products and new technologies.
(Currently, a U.S. exporter of a product with encryption capabilities (e.g., a cell phone or a network storage system) needs to file with the Commerce Department for a technical review of the product before they can export. The review can take between 30-60 days.)
Government-Wide Export Advocacy Effort
Commerce Secretary Locke has issued Government-wide advocacy instructions for all senior level officials who work with foreign counterparts in the U.S. and abroad to ensure that U.S. export promotion efforts will be conducted by U.S. officials who regularly communicate with other governments.
As part of new advocacy efforts, the U.S. government is taking the following actions:
Trade missions. Over 40 trade and reverse trade missions are scheduled in 2010 to promote U.S. goods, agriculture products and services.
New Market Exporter Initiative. The Department of Commerce is launching a new public-private partnership that engages U.S. global shipping companies like FedEx, UPS and USPS as strategic partners to expand U.S. export opportunities.
International Business Partnership Program. The U.S. Trade and Development Agency is launching a new program to bring 250-300 senior procurement officials from over 20 countries to the U.S. in 2010 to meet with U.S. businesses seeking to gain access to emerging economies.
New commercial diplomacy strategy. Secretary of State Clinton has directed U.S. ambassadors to emphasize commercial diplomacy in their work. The State Department will also require embassies to create Senior Visitor Business Liaisons to manage country advocacy efforts; and launch a program that sends U.S. Ambassadors around the U.S. to discuss export opportunities in their countries of assignment.
1In his State of the Union address, the President called for a new NEI to double U.S. exports and support two million new jobs. On March 11, 2010, the President issued an Executive Order to implement the NEI.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 03/12/10 news, 10031205, for BP summary of President's EO on the NEI.
See ITT's Online Archives or 01/28/10 news, 10012805, for BP summary of the President's announcement of the NEI in his State of the Union address.
See ITT's Online Archives or 02/22/10 news, 10022230, for BP summary of Commerce/UPS announcement to boost SME exports.)
White House fact sheet (dated 03/11/10) available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-details-administration-efforts-support-two-million-new-jobs-promoti