For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 21, 2002

Fact Sheet: Bush Administration Review of Defense Trade Export Policy and National Security

      NATO Summit Trip

The Bush Administration has begun a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of U.S. defense trade policies, to identify changes necessary to ensure that those policies continue to support U.S. national security and foreign policy goals. The review will be completed in six months.

The objectives of the review are to ensure that defense trade, defense trade technology security, and related acquisitions policies:

• Support the security of the United States;
• Contribute to peace and stability, including regional security;
• Support U.S. nonproliferation and counterterrorism policies, strategies and international commitments;
• Control militarily critical technologies; and
• Protect such technologies from diversion.

The review also aims to maintain America’s technological and war fighting advantages over its potential adversaries, while facilitating friends’ and allies’ efforts to increase capability and interoperability. Specifically, the review aims to:

• Maintain a viable U.S. defense industrial base necessary to meet current and future national security needs;
• Facilitate fundamental research, and rapid, optimal defense exploitation of commercial developments;
• Retool and realign defense and industrial links with allies to reflect the current and evolving security environment;
• Improve the military effectiveness of alliances and coalitions;
• Increase the pool of allies and friends who can effectively fight alongside us;
• Increase allied defense spending and burden-sharing; and
• Increase areas of defense cooperation.

Finally, the review will:

• Identify the top U.S. weapons acquisition programs for which increased industrial participation or greater access to U.S. technology by allies, and vice versa, would improve military effectiveness of U.S. coalitions.

• Identify possible specific modifications, and assess the potential risks to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests posed by such modifications, to current U.S. defense trade licensing policies and practices, including:
  • the Militarily Critical Technologies List;
  • the Military department technology release policy;
  • the National Disclosure Policy process;
  • DOD Procurement of foreign defense articles and technologies;
  • E.O. 11958;
  • the Arms Export Control Act; and
  • the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)

• Identify foreign market access barriers that impede U.S.-Allied defense industrial cooperation.

• Determine the effectiveness of all Defense Technology Security Initiative actions in facilitating U.S.-Allied defense trade, and develop recommendations for either continuing, changing, or discontinuing the initiative, as well as consider additional initiatives as appropriate.

• Identify technology transfer policy changes that will facilitate the ability of the U.S. military to benefit from commercial developments and international cooperation, while taking into account other national security equities.

• Identify technology transfer policy changes that will facilitate cutting edge fundamental research in U.S. academic institutions, U.S. Government laboratories, private industry and other organizations that that engage in fundamental research.

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