The US State Department is reportedly considering a major overhaul of its arms export regime to make it easier to share war material with Britain and Australia. They are pushing for the project to succeed
16/08/2024
Three years after its signature, Aukus continues to develop new forms of integration between its members. The US State Department is specifically modifying the rules on international arms exports to facilitate the sharing of sensitive military technologies with Australia and the United Kingdom, partners in the trilateral agreement focused on the Defense dimension signed in 2021. According to statements by the Washington State Department, the reform will allow London and Canberra not to have to apply for licenses to obtain American technology for about 80% of their trade with the United States in the defense sector.
“These fundamental reforms will revolutionise defence trade, innovation and cooperation, enabling collaboration at the speed and scale needed to address our challenging strategic circumstances,” he commented. Richard MarlesAustralian Defence Minister, while a British official questioned by the Financial Times described the reforms as a “big deal” because it is about “being as competitive as possible with China”, whose emergence as a power not only in economic terms during the last few years has been one of the founding reasons for the trilateral pact. According to the estimates of His Majesty’s Government, the current “Itar” regime (International Traffic in Arms Regulationsthe name of the US regulation relating to the sale of military equipment) generated annual costs for the UK of around £450 million.
The news doesn’t arrive ex-new. For years, well before the Aukus deal was signed, both the UK and Australia have been pushing the US to ease restrictions. And since 2021, the urgency of the issue has obviously returned with even greater force. The reforms were made possible after the UK and Australia made changes to their export control regimes to convince Washington that any US technology shared with the two allies will remain protected.
British official contacted by Ft He also said the move would ease the barriers to cooperation on the first pillar of Aukus, which requires the US to share nuclear propulsion technology to enable Australia (in close cooperation with the UK) to build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. But the move would also be “critical” for the second pillar, which establishes cooperation between the three partners in areas ranging from hypersonics to artificial intelligence and submarine military capabilities. He said the measure under discussion “does not eliminate the barrier. But it significantly lowers it” and added that once the effectiveness of the new system is demonstrated, “there will be room for further progress”.
The US “liberalizations” are a significant step, but the question remains whether the same regime will also be applicable to any future members of Aukus. In recent months, there has been talk of the prospect of an enlargement of the Pact to US partner countries such as Japan and/or the Philippines. Under what conditions, however, it is not given to know.