DDTC Extends Open General License Pilot to Collect More Data
The State Department this week extended its open general license pilot program for three years, allowing users to continue using the licenses beyond the original July 31 expiration date. The agency’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls said the extension will help it “collect sufficient data to consider the usefulness” of the pilot -- which includes a license each for certain reexports and retransfers -- and will give companies “sufficient certainty” to continue relying on the licenses “without fear that they could expire more quickly than a traditional license.”
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DDTC also said it made other “non-substantive edits” to both licenses to clarify that “multiple defense articles need not be reexported or retransferred simultaneously,” and to specify that companies can use the license to reexport or retransfer a “single defense article.” The agency also updated citations in the licenses to reflect sections in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations that have moved after the licenses were first issued last July.
DDTC said it will publish a Federal Register notice “in the near future” to “further inform the public of this extension.” The licenses are now scheduled to expire July 31, 2026.
The licenses authorize reexports and retransfers of certain defense items and services to Australia, Canada and the U.K. (see 2207190008), although the agency said it eventually may look to expand the authorization to include regular exports (see 2301240029). A DDTC official in January said the pilot has helped streamline licensing authorizations and made the “overall export control system better suited to today's commercial environment” (see 2301230048).
Industry and law firms have applauded the pilot program, with some saying the licenses are a “major step forward” in improving defense trade between the U.S. and close allies (see 2207260007).
The extension comes amid a recent rise in criticism of the ITAR, which some lawmakers and industry experts said prevents the U.S. from easily sharing controlled technologies with the U.K., Australia and other close allies (see 2303170045, 2302170022 and 2303130035). The House this month passed legislation that would require the State Department to issue an “assessment of recommended improvements to export control laws,” a bill some view as the first step toward potential ITAR changes (see 2303230031).