Manzullo echoes call for export control reform

From press release

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo (R-16) said America’s antiquated export control system continues to prevent U.S. companies from selling non-threatening goods overseas and is in critical need of reform, especially considering another 263,000 Americans lost their jobs last month and unemployment rose to 9.8 percent.

Manzullo, co-founder of the House Export Control Working Group, thanked U.S. Commerce Department Secretary Gary Locke for his proposal to fix two key export control problems that hamper American manufacturing and job growth. Locke offered his reforms yesterday during the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Update Conference on Export Controls.

Secretary Locke proposed Oct. 1 that the Commerce Department, in cooperation with other appropriate federal agencies, pursue two reforms that will provide substantial and immediate relief to U.S. exporters while strengthening U.S. national security and foreign policy interests: eliminating dual-use export license requirements for our closest allies and partner nations; and implementing a fast-track procedure for the review of dual-use export licenses for other key allies.

Manzullo said: “American manufacturing workers take a hit every time a U.S. company loses a sale to a foreign company when the customer chooses to avoid dealing with our unwieldy export control licensing system. Even worse, we’ve seen too many examples of U.S. technologies actively designed out of foreign and multi-national projects. I wholeheartedly support Secretary Locke’s efforts, and I appreciate his emphasis on reform in conjunction with enforcement efforts. I will continue to work in a bipartisan fashion with my colleagues in Congress and our partners in the administration to answer the president’s recent call for a broad-based interagency review of the U.S. export control system.”

A copy of the Secretary’s speech can be found here.