Shipper groups protest proposed U.S. “catch all” export regulations
Shipper groups protest proposed U.S. “catch all” export regulations
A group of 23 shipper groups are urging the U.S. Commerce Department to reassess its proposed licensing requirements for controlling non-listed, dual-use items under the Wassenaar Arrangement.
The Wassenaar Arrangement is an international agreement that requires member countries to closely control shipments of conventional weapons and their components.
In 2003, the U.S. government proposed additional licensing requirements on U.S.-origin, dual-use items and technology to 19 countries, including China. Dual-use items may be used for both commercial and military purposes.
“Thousands of American companies, including many of our members, will be adversely affected by these new regulations,” said the shipper groups in a letter Wednesday to Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez.
“This is because an open-ended ‘catch-all’ regulation that covers exports and re-exports would require U.S. companies to screen all transactions globally.” the shipper groups added. “The burden will be particularly acute on small and medium-sized firms.”
The shipper groups said the addition of catch-all regulations will not improve U.S. security. “If, however, there are additional specific items that the U.S. government determines should be more strictly controlled, then those items can be addressed through existing mechanisms without imposing on American exporters the burden of determining what is subject to a ‘catch-all,’ ” the shipper groups said.
Groups that signed the letter include the Aerospace Industries Association, American Association of Exporters and Importers, American Bar Association Export Controls Committee, National Association of Manufacturers, National Foreign Trade Council, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
If the Commerce Department does go forward with catch-all regulations, the groups asked that U.S. licensing and export controls be consistent with those promulgated and implemented by other Wassenaar Arrangement governments.
“Given the widespread availability of most dual-use items and technologies, unilateral U.S. restrictions would only widen the disparity between U.S. export controls and those of other governments, including our closest allies, undercutting the goal of multilateral cooperation,” the shipper groups warned.
They also recommended that the Commerce Department’s catch-all rules should be limited to those items and technologies that the government has “informed exporters would directly or significantly contribute to new military capabilities of the subject countries.”
The controlled items and foreign entities of concern should be explicitly identified and listed by the Commerce Department so that firms, especially small and medium-sized companies, will be able to comply, the shipper groups said.
