Lawmakers Drafting Revisions to ITAR
Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., is working on a bill to revise certain aspects of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, he said in a brief interview at the Capitol last week. There are a “lot of opportunities” under the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) partnership that “we haven’t realized right now,” Gallagher said, adding that the ITAR “remains a barrier to cooperation with the Aussies and the Brits.” It “makes no sense to me,” he said.
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Gallagher, chair of the House Select Committee on China, said he is working on the ITAR bill with Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., and added that it’s “very complex.” The lawmakers are still “in the drafting phase right now. But the thing I’ve heard, as chair of the Friends of Australia Caucus, most consistently the last six years, is that we gotta bring ITAR into the 21st century.”
The Biden administration last year said it's hoping to reduce barriers to sharing technology with allies -- including Australia and the U.K. -- in areas such as hypersonics and artificial intelligence (see 2209280024). The State Department recently announced an open general license pilot program designed to more efficiently authorize certain reexports and retransfers of certain defense items and services to Australia, Canada and the U.K. (see 2207190008). The agency may consider expanding the program to exports (see 2301240029).