Washington, DC – U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez announced today that the public comment period has now closed, and he will be leading an effort to finalize the new rules.
"U.S. exports to China are up 35 percent and we believe there’s a great deal of room to grow," said Gutierrez. "As we expand our exports to China, we need to strike the right balance of promoting exports while also having prudent safeguards to protect our national security. We believe we can find the right balance, and that new rules will simultaneously enhance exports and safeguard U.S. security. "The bottom line is that export controls do not significantly reduce the volume of U.S. exports."
The Commerce Department has proposed an update to U.S. dual-use export licensing policy toward China that would advance standing U.S. policy of facilitating dual-use exports for appropriate civilian uses while denying China access to U.S. technologies that would contribute to its military modernization. The proposed rule is designed to facilitate U.S. civilian high technology exports to China by creating a validated end-user program to permit exports of certain items for civilian use to trusted customers in China without the usual license. At the same time, the proposed rule would add controls on a carefully targeted set of exports that would increase China’s military capabilities in a way that would maximize the security benefit while minimizing the impact on U.S. exporters. The public comment opened on July 11, 2006 and closed at midnight on Dec 4.
"We believe that the net effect of these regulatory changes will be positive for U.S. exporters. The validated end-user program seeks to facilitate a significant amount of U.S. exports to legitimate civilian customers in China, while only a small percentage of U.S. exports would be affected by the military end-use licensing requirement,”" said Gutierrez.
In Fiscal Year 2006, $2.5 billion in proposed exports to China needed a license, 4.6 percent of total U.S. exports of $52 billion. Applications totaling $20 million were denied.
The Department of Commerce, through its Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), regulates the export of sensitive goods and technologies, enforces export control laws, assists U.S. industry in complying with international arms control agreements, and monitors the viability of the U.S. defense industrial base.
The Commerce Department engages in a continual dialogue with U.S. exporters and the Chinese government on export control policy issues. Secretary Gutierrez will further discuss export controls with his Chinese counterparts at the Strategic Economic Dialogue in Beijing on December 14-15.
