Gates: Export Reforms for Nat’l Security

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. government will update a Cold War-era rule book that decides which U.S. technologies and products may be sold abroad, revamping a system criticized as too strict and one that does not always keep sensitive technology out of unfriendly hands, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday.

The move was expected to open doors for U.S. businesses that want to sell their wares abroad but cannot, or do not bother, because U.S. regulations are so restrictive.

The plan probably will encounter resistance in Congress, where many lawmakers say they worry about proliferation. While some of the reforms can be done through executive power, a complete overhaul of the system would require legislation.

Gates said he wants Congress to pass a revamp bill by the end of the year because the existing bureaucracy has alienated U.S. allies and still failed to keep sophisticated technology away from adversaries.

The "famous maxim, `He who defends everything, defends nothing' certainly applies to export control," Gates said in a speech attended by defense contractors.

The proposal is focused on so-called dual-use technologies, items such as computers and helicopter spare parts that are sold commercially for civilian purposes but also can be used by military forces. Various federal agencies regulate these items and have competing oversight on whether they may be sold abroad.

The Obama administration's plan wants a single list and a single licensing agency to control the export system. The plan also would create a single enforcement agency. This final step in particular was expected to require legislation.

Gates said the single list and licensing agency would allow the government to concentrate on controlling the nation's "crown jewels."

"Items that have no significant military impact or that use widely available technology could be approved for export quickly," Gates said.

Lawmakers said Tuesday they were supportive of the concept, but some stopped short of endorsing the administration's plan. Reps. Ike Skelton, Democratic chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Buck McKeon, the panel's top Republican, said they looked forward to convening hearings on the issue.

National security must remain "the paramount factor," McKeon said.

Rep. Howard Berman, another Democrat and the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd, who heads the Senate Banking Committee, are said to be the plan's biggest advocates.

In a statement, Berman said Gates provided a "forceful rationale" for reform and that he would sponsor an overhaul bill.

Gates says a major culprit in the current system is an overly broad definition of what should be controlled. When he was deputy director for intelligence at the CIA in 1982, Gates said the United States was tracking so many technologies that the number of items outstripped the government's ability to monitor them.

"We were wasting our time and resources tracking technologies you could buy at RadioShack," he said.

The system also is mired in bureaucracy and is spread around a number of federal agencies including the Defense, State and Commerce departments.

"In theory, this provides checks and balances," he said. "In reality, it creates confusion about who has jurisdiction, allowing for more mistakes and for exporters to shop around for the agency that will give them the best result."