Officials said the reforms would accelerate defense exports to a range
of Middle East states. They cited Iraq, which has ordered hundreds of M1A1
main battle tanks as the basis of its conventional military.
Under the administration proposal, components of the Abrams would be
removed from the Munition List, Middle East Newsline reported. This included brake pads for the tank,
virtually identical to that used in fire trucks.
"But the tank brake pads require a license to be exported to any country
around the world, while the fire truck brake pads can be exported to
virtually all countries without a license," the White House said.
Officials said other Middle East allies have also complained of
bureaucratic delays in the U.S. approval of weapons exports. They cited
Saudi Arabia, which has warned that it would turn to other Western allies
for major combat platforms such as fighter-jets, tanks and missiles.
In August 2009, Obama ordered a review of the U.S. export control
system, severely criticized by the defense industry. The interagency review
determined that the export control system, with three primary licensing
agencies, was ineffective and harmed U.S. competitiveness.
"Under the approach outlined by the president, agencies will apply new
criteria for determining what items need to be controlled and a common set
of policies for determining when an export license is required," the White
House said. "The control list criteria are based on transparent rules, which
will reduce the uncertainty faced by our allies, U.S. industry and its
foreign partners, and will allow the government to erect higher walls around
the most sensitive items in order to enhance national security."
Officials said the administration would maintain sanctions on such
countries as Iran, Sudan and Syria, all deemed terrorist sponsors. They said
controls on U.S. critical technology, including advanced software, ballistic
missiles and stealth aircraft, would be retained.
"With the military becoming increasingly dependent on
commercial-off-the-shelf dual-use technology, it is important to ensure that
our licensing criteria are based on objective technical parameters that take
into account the strategic nature of an item and whether or not the item is
available from non-U.S. suppliers," Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said.