The US Department of State has certified that Australia and the UK’s domestic export control regimes are comparable to its own, unlocking a partial International Trafficking in Arms Regulations (ITAR) exemption for both from 1 September this year.
The partial ITAR exemptions for Australia and the UK were included in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that was signed into law in December 2023. The NDAA made granting those exemptions conditional on the US President certifying that Australia and the UK’s export control regimes were comparable to the US’s.
The NDAA mandated that the US President determine if they were comparable within 120 days of the law being signed. While Australia and the UK weren’t found to be comparable within the first 120-day window, which lapsed on 20 April 2024, they now have been.
That means that from 1 September this year, the Australian Government and Australian companies will no longer require licences for more than 70 per cent of all goods covered by ITAR. Where licences will still be required for items on the US Excluded Technology List (ETL), the US will work to process them within 30 days for government-to-government transfers and 45 days for industry-to-industry or government-to-industry transfers.
ADM understands that licence applications through the US system can currently take up to 18 months to be approved. While the UK is faster - with the longest applications taking up to 130 days - from 1 September, the Australian Government and companies will no longer need to apply for more than 200 types of export permits when dealing with the UK.
The US ETL includes technology relevant to AUKUS - such as naval nuclear propulsion, submarine quieting, and long-range missiles covered by the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) - as well as other things that ADM understands Australia has no interest in, including cluster munitions and nuclear weapons delivery technology. The US ETL will be reviewed every 12 months, and ADM understands that there are some items that Australia would like taken off the list in the future, even though Defence is generally happy with the outcome.
In the meantime, both the UK and Australia will need to develop equivalents to the US ETL and implement them by 1 September. In Australia’s case, ADM understands that a proposed list has already gone to government for consideration. While the exact details of the proposed list aren’t clear, ADM understands that it mainly includes items that Australia is required to regulate under existing domestic legislation, namely MTCR-controlled missiles and certain dual-use technologies related to chemical and biological weapons. In addition, it may also include some sensitive technologies that Australia wants to keep a tighter degree of control over, such as radars built by CEA Technologies or other world-leading Australian products.
The certification complements a US Department of Commerce ruling in April that exempted Australia and the UK from 85 per cent of licensing requirements under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) which regulates dual-use technologies.
“These critical reforms will revolutionise defence trade, innovation and cooperation, enabling collaboration at the speed and scale required to meet our challenging strategic circumstances,” said the Minister for Defence, Richard Marles.