[Satellite News 04-03-09] The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) is supporting a new version of the U.S. Foreign Affairs Bill which eases satellite export controls outlined in International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), AIA Spokeswoman Alexis Allen told Satellite News.
    According to an April 2 report in The New York Times, the U.S. Congress is holding committee hearings on possible revisions, backed by Democrats, to the bill. "We’re glad to see some change in the works," Allen said. "We’ve been working on having these restrictions lifted for several years."
    The 1999 version of the U.S. Foreign Affairs Bill, which included strict controls of satellite exports, was originally drafted in response to a 1998 incident in which Hughes and Loral were accused by Washington officials of giving China development aid for commercial and military rockets. A U.S. federal grand jury investigation resulted in the attachment of ITAR export controls to a 1999 U.S. defense bill that gave Congress the authority to supervise the exporting of satellites. Despite signing the bill, former President Bill Clinton was critical of it, issuing a signing statement that it threatened to “hamper the U.S. satellite industry.”
    AIA has long called for comprehensive ITAR reforms. Marion Blakey, AIA’s CEO and president, said the organization has worked extensively with U.S. President Barack Obama’s  administration in dealing with ITAR application process issues. "[ITAR] is outdated. We need a fresh outlook, which we believe the Obama administration is capable of doing. We need more coordination between the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Already, our backlog of license applications has dropped significantly,” she said.
    Eric Thoemmes, vice president of space systems and operations for Lockheed Martin, told Satellite News that ITAR has created a whole industry of suppliers who, despite the regulations, will export U.S. space subsystems to foreign customers. “ITAR-controlled supplies are available on the global market, so the restrictions have clearly come with consequences.”
    Some satellite manufacturers also welcome revisions to ITAR. Rick Fleeter, president and CEO of AeroAstro, said ITAR, which originally was created to protect U.S. space interests, has produced unexpected consequences. "What ITAR has done is to develop a highly capable industry outside the United States. No one thought the results would be to teach other countries to do what we used to be uniquely able to do. It would have been better if we had been a more open supplier. Nobody would have developed their own star tracker or their own radios or their own piece of equipment. Everyone has learned," he said.
    Fleeter added that he believes “ITAR-free” policies are realistic. "Since we are now in a global economy, ITAR does not have any effect anymore," he said..
    Nigel Doran, vice president of engineering and quality for Com Dev, said ITAR also has affected the U.S. domestic supply chain. "Before ITAR and before commercial satellites were moved from the U.S. Commerce Department to the U.S. State Department, we did buy a lot of U.S. material. Now with ITAR we have reduced our dependence on the U.S. supply chain simply because of the catch-all of anything specially modified or designed applications falls under ITAR,” he said.