The US government is taking steps to ease the licensing burden to sell US-built aircraft and engines on the world market. The move comes as recognition that the aerospace industry is the country's biggest exporter.
The Obama administration is hoping to double US exports in 2014, says Chandra Brown, deputy assistant secretary of commerce for manufacturing. She notes that the aerospace industry already exports $118 billion in equipment each year.
To help facilitate that goal, the US government has revamped its munitions list and moved many items to the commerce list, which will make it easier to secure export licences, says Dennis Krep, the director of sensors and aviation division of the Bureau of Industry and Security at the Commerce Department. The onerous requirements of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations was driving many companies to design hardware without US content, he says.
Many aircraft and engine components are no longer going to be covered under ITAR, Krep says. Instead they will fall under a 600 series category on the commerce list, he says. In the case of 36 nations that are close allies, once a device is exported to one of them, an exemption will allow for re-exports to any of the others.
More changes will be announced in the coming month as more revised rules are released, Krep says. The next set will deal with maritime hardware.
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Source: Flight Daily News
