Senate Agrees to Grant Presidential Satellite Authority in NDAA; Would Allow USML-CCL Move
The Senate agreed to include a provision granting presidential authority over satellite export controls in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, according to a press release by House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Howard Berman (D-Calif.). The amendment, agreed to in conference, would allow the transfer of satellites and related items from the State Department’s U.S. Munitions List to the Bureau of Industry and Security’s Commerce Control List, Berman said. It would also prohibit the export of such items to China, North, Syria and Iran, he said.
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“This agreement will help restore America’s global competitiveness in high-tech satellite technology, while also protecting vital U.S. national security interests,” Berman said. “Treating commercial satellites and components as if they were lethal weapons, regardless of whether they’re going to friend or foe, has gravely harmed U.S. space manufacturers. U.S. national security depends upon these manufacturers for our own defense needs; if they can’t compete in the international marketplace due to onerous restrictions, they can’t innovate and cannot survive.”
Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the press release.