11/21/2011 12:01:00 AM
HEADLINES
U.S. Government Proposes New Aircraft Parts Export Rules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules started as a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft and was first flown in 1954. Subsequently more than 2,300 have been built for military and commercial use and more than 40 models are in use in 60 nations. Under Obama administration proposed rule changes, most C-130 fasteners would not be restricted in commerce because of the original military use.
The Obama administration proposed new rules for exports of military aircraft and associated parts such as fasteners. Proposed rule changes published in the Federal Register could save U.S. companies time and money, according to the Aerospace Industries Association.
Laurin Baker, Washington representative, for the Industrial Fasteners Institute, said the IFI’s aerospace division is carefully reviewing the proposed changes.
“We don’t see any problems on the surface,” Baker, of the Washington, DC-based firm, The Laurin Baker Group, told FIN, “but the proposed rules are lengthy and complex and we want to make sure that fastener manufacturers are not disadvantaged unintentionally. Specifically, we want to make sure that ‘dual-use’ fasteners remain under the control of the Department of Commerce.
Many aerospace fasteners were developed for military aircraft use, but no longer require strict export controls under the International Trafficking in Arms Regulations (ITAR), because they are now widely used in commercial applications, Baker explained.
Baker cited the C-130 as a prime example of an aircraft developed for the military, but now widely used commercially around the world.
“Fasteners used in such aircraft are the same regardless of whether the aircraft is used in a military or commercial application, and they pose little to no security risk to the U.S. if exported,” Baker said. As a result, until recently those fasteners would have fallen under the Commerce Department’s jurisdiction, not ITAR. However, several years ago the law governing such exports expired and confusion developed.
“Fastener manufacturers had a number of problems with inconsistent interpretations,” Baker explained.
The IFI worked with AIA and the administration to develop a specific rule change governing “dual-use” aerospace fasteners, which went into effect in 2008. That rule makes clear that such fasteners are controlled by Commerce, not ITAR.
“That’s what the IFI wants to make sure is preserved in the new proposals,” Baker explained.
Aerospace fasteners really were the first products to benefit from modernization of the decades-old export controls, Baker noted. “Subsequently the Bush and Obama administrations embarked on modernizing the entire process, and we applaud that effort.”
“We will continue to work with the administration and our OEM customers to ensure that fastener manufacturers enjoy the full benefits of export control modernization,” Baker told FIN.
The proposed rule changes are now in the public comment period and IFI aerospace members are “looking at the rules very carefully,” Baker added.
Fastener manufacturers with concerns or comments should contact Pat Meade at the IFI, Baker suggested.
Comments are due by December 22, 2011.
Reuters reported that the proposed changes would move less sensitive products such as nuts, bolts and fasteners, from the State Department’s U.S. Munitions List (USML) to the List Commerce Department’s Commerce Control List (CCL). That change would streamline exports and allow advance approvals instead of applying for approval for each export order.
The aerospace trade group termed the changes a “major milestone” in long overdue efforts to reform Washington’s “cumbersome and outdated export control system,” Reuters reported.
Earlier this year the administration initiated similar changes for military vehicles and tanks.
Remy Nathan, vice president of international affairs for the trade group, told Reuters that U.S. companies must still seek permission to export military aircraft and associated items, but the process would be streamlined for parts, which are essentially commercial products.
“It’s paperwork, it’s time, and all of that equates to cost,” Nathan explained.
The November 7, 2011, Federal Register notice said items were retained on the Munitions List if they were either inherently military or possessed characteristics that provided a critical military or intelligence advantage to the United States.
The Federal Register posting said the changes would serve national security by allowing greater cooperation with NATO and other allies and help improve the U.S. defense industrial base by reducing incentives for foreign companies to avoid U.S. items that were subject to export control restrictions.
The changes also allow the U.S. government to “focus its resources on controlling, monitoring, investigating, analyzing, and, if need be, prohibiting exports and reexports of more significant items to destinations, end uses, and end users of greater concern than our NATO allies and other multi-regime partners,” the Federal Register notice states. Web: industrial-fasteners.org
The Obama administration proposed new rules for exports of military aircraft and associated parts such as fasteners. Proposed rule changes published in the Federal Register could save U.S. companies time and money, according to the Aerospace Industries Association.
Laurin Baker, Washington representative for the Industrial Fasteners Institute, said the IFI’s aerospace division is carefully reviewing the proposed changes.
“We don’t see any problems on the surface,” Baker, of the Washington, DC-based firm The Laurin Baker Group, told GlobalFastenerNews.com, “but the proposed rules are lengthy and complex and we want to make sure that fastener manufacturers are not disadvantaged unintentionally.”
“Specifically, we want to make sure that ‘dual-use’ fasteners remain under the control of the Department of Commerce.”
Many aerospace fasteners were developed for military aircraft use, but no longer require strict export controls under the International Trafficking in Arms Regulations (ITAR) because they are now widely used in commercial applications, Baker explained.
Baker cited the C-130 as a prime example of an aircraft developed for the military, but now widely used commercially around the world.
“Fasteners used in such aircraft are the same regardless of whether the aircraft is used in a military or commercial application, and they pose little to no security risk to the U.S. if exported,” Baker said.
As a result, until recently those fasteners would have fallen under the Commerce Department’s jurisdiction, not ITAR. However, several years ago the law governing such exports expired and confusion developed.
“Fastener manufacturers had a number of problems with inconsistent interpretations,” Baker explained.
The IFI worked with AIA and the administration to develop a specific rule change governing “dual-use” aerospace fasteners, which went into effect in 2008. That rule makes clear that such fasteners are controlled by Commerce, not ITAR.
“That’s what the IFI wants to make sure is preserved in the new proposals,” Baker noted.
Aerospace fasteners really were the first products to benefit from modernization of the decades-old export controls, Baker noted.
“Subsequently the Bush and Obama administrations embarked on modernizing the entire process, and we applaud that effort.”
“We will continue to work with the administration and our OEM customers to ensure that fastener manufacturers enjoy the full benefits of export control modernization,” Baker told GlobalFastenerNews.com.
The proposed rule changes are now in the public comment period and IFI aerospace members are “looking at the rules very carefully,” Baker added.
Fastener manufacturers with concerns or comments should contact Pat Meade at the IFI, Baker suggested. Comments are due by December 22, 2011.
Reuters reported that the proposed changes would move less sensitive products such as nuts, bolts and fasteners, from the State Department’s U.S. Munitions List (USML) to the List Commerce Department’s Commerce Control List (CCL). That change would streamline exports and allow advance approvals instead of applying for approval for each export order.
The aerospace trade group termed the changes a “major milestone” in long overdue efforts to reform Washington’s “cumbersome and outdated export control system,” Reuters reported.
Earlier this year the administration initiated similar changes for military vehicles and tanks.
Remy Nathan, vice president of international affairs for the trade group, told Reuters that U.S. companies must still seek permission to export military aircraft and associated items, but the process would be streamlined for parts, which are essentially commercial products.
“It’s paperwork, it’s time, and all of that equates to cost,” Nathan explained.
The November 7, 2011, Federal Register notice said items were retained on the Munitions List if they were either inherently military or possessed characteristics that provided a critical military or intelligence advantage to the United States.
The Federal Register posting said the changes would serve national security by allowing greater cooperation with NATO and other allies and help improve the U.S. defense industrial base by reducing incentives for foreign companies to avoid U.S. items that were subject to export control restrictions.
The changes also allow the U.S. government to “focus its resources on controlling, monitoring, investigating, analyzing, and, if need be, prohibiting exports and reexports of more significant items to destinations, end uses, and end users of greater concern than our NATO allies and other multi-regime partners,” the Federal Register notice states. Web: industrial-fasteners.org ©2011 GlobalFastenerNews.com
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