Australia, UK on Track to Get ITAR Exemptions for AUKUS, US Official Says

Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie Jenkins said she is “very confident” Australia and the U.K. will qualify to receive International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) exemptions from the U.S., a key requirement for the AUKUS trilateral security partnership.

To make their export controls comparable to those of the U.S., the U.K. has passed national security legislation, and Australia is moving forward with its own, Jenkins told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Feb. 14. U.S. officials, meanwhile, are meeting frequently with Australian and British officials to lay the groundwork for the licensing exemptions under the Australia-U.K.-U.S. partnership.

“We are working around the clock to do what we need to make sure that we can get” the ITAR exemptions that Congress has authorized President Joe Biden to provide, Jenkins said. Australia and the U.K. are “doing what they need and we are doing what we need to put in place all the steps that have to happen.”

The FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which Biden signed into law in December, gives him the authority to grant the exemptions to allow the three countries to share cutting-edge technology (see 2312070054). While Jenkins declined to say when the exemptions might be provided, she said “we're working as fast as we can."

Asked by Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., whether Taiwan could participate in technology collaboration under pillar two of AUKUS, Jenkins said the State Department is exploring which other countries might join the effort.

Also during the hearing, Jenkins attributed delays in providing arms to Taiwan to constraints in the defense industrial base. “We’re working very closely with our partners and industry to try to move that faster,” she said.

Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., urged the administration to use its presidential drawdown authority to speed up deliveries to Taiwan, as it has frequently done for Ukraine following Russia's February 2022 invasion. In response to Reps. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., and Joe Wilson, R-S.C., who expressed concern about delays in providing rifles for Israel, Jenkins said the Biden administration is still deliberating on the matter.

Turning to Russia, Rep. Thomas Kean Jr., R-N.J., urged the administration to impose more sanctions on state-owned nuclear company Rosatom, saying existing sanctions imposed on executives and subsidiaries are insufficient.

Previewing the committee’s future agenda, Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said the panel plans to “look at outdated arms control and nonproliferation policies, like the Missile Technology Control Regime, and whether the [State] Department’s structural organization needs updating to combat the challenges we face today.”