State, Commerce Officials Stress Importance of Public Comments for Space-Related Export Controls

Officials from the State and Commerce departments underscored the importance of open communication and urged industry leaders to submit public comments as the two begin a review of space-related export controls under a Trump administration directive. At the April 17 public meeting at the Department of Commerce, several officials, including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, said they were seeking public comments on an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking for both State and Commerce, specifically surrounding items listed on the U.S. Munitions List regarding categories IV and XV: launch vehicles and spacecraft, respectively. The notices were issued March 8; comments are due April 22.

Rob Monjay, an official in State's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, said at the meeting that this set of export controls present a different challenge than officials are accustomed to. “We know how to do export controls where we list something and you come and get a license. We’ve been doing that for a long time,” he said. “What we’re looking for with this notice is really inventive ways of implementing those controls that work with your business.” To do that, Monjay said, State and Commerce need specific “details of your use cases,” details that may be proprietary information.

Monjay said he understood that many companies may not want to reveal certain information in a public setting, but stressed that was the only way the export controls ultimately put in place would suit their needs. “If there is proprietary information, we want to hear it, we want to be able to understand it,” Monjay said. “If we don’t have the public comments, we don’t have the tools we need to make the changes that will enable this to be an effective review for you.”

Dennis Krepp, the director for the Sensors and Aerospace Division at Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security, urged companies to give “as much detail as” possible. “You've got to give me something in the public comment that I can move forward with,” he said. “Don’t tell me you need to change X to Y. Because if that's all I get, it’s probably not going to change and it’s going to be an easy one to say, ‘yeah, sorry, I don’t have enough information.’ We’re going to move on.”

An Office of Space Commerce posting about the meeting said there was an opportunity for companies to hold "a private consultation with the government for proprietary or other reasons," and that they could "request one, to be held after the public meeting ends at 2:30. We will reserve 15-minute slots for such consultations from 2:30-5:00 p.m. on a first come, first served basis."

Scott Pace, the executive secretary for the National Space Council, stressed that although the export controls may be “burdensome,” they are designed to protect American firms. Pace specifically named China, which has aimed “attacks on some of our companies,” as a target for controls. Pace said “too often we’ve seen cases where there’s been proposals for cooperation, particularly with China … and if [the company] doesn’t take the money or doesn’t take the inducements, they find cyberattacks and other things coming in from the back.” Pace said “having compliance with export controls … is part of being able to operate in a very dangerous and competitive” environment. “All of it begins with you and your companies,” he added. “We can’t be everywhere and we really depend on you and working in partnership with you.”

Ross, speaking briefly toward the end of the meeting, said “we are very eager to get all your comments by April 22. It’s important to figure out how to modify the space export controls.”