If the current Cold War-era export control system does not get revamped, it could harm national security, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates yesterday told members of Business Executives for National Security.Addressing the nonpartisan organization of business leaders, Gates said the export control system does not adequately protect crucial U.S. capabilities and makes it nearly impossible to quickly share needed capabilities with allies and partners. He added that his proposal for a new export control process would make it harder for critical technologies to get into the hands of rogue states and terrorists while facilitating the transfer of technology to U.S. allies.
“The United States is thought to have one of the most stringent export regimes in the world, but stringent is not the same as effective,” Gates said. “A number of lapses in recent years – from highly sensitive materials being exported to vital homeland security capabilities being delayed – have underscored the flaws of the current approach.”
Gates said the current export-control system is a Cold War artifact, with rules rules, organizations and processes that do not deal effectively with situations that could harm the nation in the 21st century. Most importantly, he said, the current arrangement fails at preventing harmful exports while facilitating useful ones.
The secretary proposed a tiered approach to export control that would allow the United States to build higher walls around crucial technologies while lowering walls around others. One flaw of the current system, he said, is that it makes no differentiation among technologies, and the lists are endless.
Currently, the United States has two export-control lists: one maintained at the State Department and one by Commerce. The single list, combined with a single licensing agency, would allow the nation to focus on controlling critical technologies and items that maintain U.S. military technology advantage, Gates said. It would be a tiered system, the secretary explained, with truly critical technologies at the top cascading down to lesser technologies. Items could move from one group to another as their sensitivity changes, he said.
A single licensing agency would have jurisdiction over both munitions and dual-use technologies, which would streamline the licensing process and reduce confusion, Gates said.
The first steps required in reforming the present export system will begin immediately, beginning with the transition to a single list and the single licensing agency. The second phase will transition to a single IT system and implement the tiered control list, Gates said. For the final, third phase, congressional action is needed, and Gates said he looks forward to working with senators and representatives to develop the right approach.