Satellite Execs Say Fewer Satellite Export Controls Would Boost Security
Reform of export controls can strengthen the space industry base, satellite and export policy experts said at the the National Space Society’s International Space Development Conference in Washington May 25. Recent developments in satellite export control include House passage of the National Defense Authorization Act, with an amendment authorizing the president to remove types of satellites and their components from the conditions of the U.S. Munitions List (See ITT's Online Archives 12052103).
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There's a bill pending in the Senate that calls for similar reforms (See ITT's Online Archives 12052311) . The effect that the tougher restrictions have on the space and satellite industries prompted the legislative activity, said Patricia Cooper, president of the Satellite Industry Association. There's concern in the industry that "U.S. companies have been investing less [and] exporting less as a result of export controls that required that everything ... be treated as a munition," she said. There also is concern that such controls weaken the supply chain for the military and space industrial base, she said.
Last year, when the Secretary of Defense signed the National Security Space Strategy, it was recognized that export control systems needed to be addressed to help energize the space industrial base, said Ashley Bander, an analyst in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy. The drafters of the policy "wanted to modify those controls on satellites and related items that were widely available to allow our industry to compete for the sale of those items," she said. An advantage of moving the items to the Commerce Control List "is that it's a more flexible system of control," she said: The CCL allows authorities "to tailor the controls to the sensitivity of the transfer."