On May 1, the United States, together with Australia and the United Kingdom, published proposed changes to our systems of defense trade controls for public and industry input. The proposed changes are designed to harness and maximize the innovative power residing in our defense industrial bases by facilitating secure license-free defense trade between our countries.
The proposed changes to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations – or ITAR – would create a license exemption supporting billions of dollars in license-free defense trade between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States and allow for deeper security cooperation and innovation among AUKUS partners. All three nations are committed to working with our private sectors and our research communities – those who will use these exemptions – to ensure the exemptions, taken together, support the goals of the AUKUS enhanced security partnership.
The U.S. Department of State is soliciting public feedback and comment by May 31, 2024. The proposed ITAR change, and details on submitting public comments, can be found on FederalRegister.gov.