U.S. government export control reform initiative — Impacts on satellites, space technology and aircraft

On May 14, 2014, the Department of State and Department of Commerce published final rules transferring certain satellites, satellite components and space technology from the United States Munitions List (USML) controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to the Commerce Control List (CCL) controlled under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). These rules are the product of extensive work between President Obama's Administration and Congress, in consultation with industry, to reform the regulations governing the export of satellites and satellite-related items. These changes are meant to reform the current export control regime to improve the competitiveness of industry while ensuring that sensitive technology is protected for national security reasons. [1]. Prior to the initiation of the Export Control Reform (ECR) Initiative in 2010, the U.S.'s export control system operated under 1970's statutory authorities and had been increased and changed by every President since President Kennedy, resulting in a complex, overregulated and bureaucratic system that inhibited U.S. businesses and universities from competing internationally [2]. In 1999, a satellite export ban was put in place after engineers working for American aerospace companies were accused of leaking sensitive missile technology to the Chinese government. Congress pushed to categorize communications satellites as weapons and initiated an export ban in order to keep China from learning more U.S. secrets [3]. As a result, all satellites, regardless of use, and all satellite components, parts, systems, and technologies had been controlled at the highest level under the Department of State's U. S. Munitions List (USML) until May 14, 2014 [3]. A 2012 report from the Aerospace Industries Association estimated that U.S. manufacturers lost $21 billion in satellite revenue from 1999-2009, costing the industry approximately 9,000 jobs each year. U.S. companies controlled 73 percent of the worldwide satellite export business in 1995, but by 2005 - just six years after the ban - that share had plummeted to 25 percent [3]. This paper will provide an update on the Export Control Reform Initiative, six years after it initially began, specifically focusing on changes to commercial satellite, space technology, and aircraft controls that have made a profound impact on government and industry.